ABSTRACT Deuterium‐incorporated organic compounds are used in various scientific fields. Therefore, the development of direct deuteration (H/D exchange reaction) is highly desired. We developed a simple and cost‐effective method for preparing potassium deuteroxide (KOD) in D 2 O and applied it in the site‐selective deuteration of thioacetals as aldehyde equivalents. This approach provided high deuteration contents across a wide range of substrates, bearing hydroxyl, amino, acetal, and other moieties. The obtained deuterated thioacetals were further converted into the corresponding deuterated aldehydes, methylene‐bridged diols, and natural products. This deuteration method is a practical and efficient approach for synthesizing deuterated compounds and contributes to the development of deuterated pharmaceuticals and advanced materials.
Shimizu et al. (Fri,) studied this question.