One-pot synthesis of non-symmetric tetraoxanes with the H2O2/MTO/fluorous alcohol system

1,2,4,5-Tetraoxanes, potent antimalarial drugs, were selectively synthesized in fluorous alcohols (2,2,2-trifluoroethanol–TFE and 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol–HFIP). A use of these solvents enabled for the first time a one-pot synthesis of non-symmetric tetraoxanes in good yields from simple ketones and aldehydes with 2 equiv. of 30% hydrogen peroxide and 0.1 mol% of methyltrioxorhenium (MTO).