Environmentally benign NiAlCe-hydrotalcite for efficient synthesis of benzoin ethyl ether

Benzoin ethyl ether is traditionally synthesized in two steps of initial condensation followed by etherification, using toxic cyanide catalysts and enzymes. Here, we show that an environmentally benign NiAlCe-hydrotalcite catalyst is highly efficient for one-step synthesis of benzoin ethyl ether. We synthesized NiAlCe-hydrotalcite catalysts by a modified coprecipitation method. 99.3 % selectivity was achieved at 63.7 % conversion of benzaldehyde on the NiAlCe-hydrotalcite catalyst with a Ni²⁺/Al³⁺/Ce³⁺ ratio of 22:10:1. Moreover, NiAlCe-hydrotalcite catalysts maintained stable activities over three consecutive runs.