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Organic chemistry

Catalysis in tight spaces

An acid has been found to catalyse the formation of a common chemical group, the spiroacetals, and to control which mirror-image isomer of the group is made. The key to success is the acid's bulky molecular structure. See Letter p.315

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Figure 1: Acetals and an acetal precursor.
Figure 2: A spiroacetal-forming reaction.

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Correspondence to Eric N. Jacobsen.

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Burns, N., Jacobsen, E. Catalysis in tight spaces. Nature 483, 278–279 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/483278a

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