Abstract:The enantiopure reagent menthyl chloride (2) is generally prepared from (-)-(1R)-menthol (1) with Lucas' reagent (ZnCl 2 in conc. aqueous HCl) in a stereoretentive reaction that appeared to be free from accompanying rearrangements. The same was assumed for a recent synthesis of 2 through TiCl 4 -catalyzed extrusion of SO 2 from menthyl chlorosulfite (3). The products of both syntheses have now been analyzed by quantitative 1 H and 13 C NMR methods, and all reaction components have been identified down to the ≤ 0.5 mol-% level. Either reaction is accompanied by cationic rearrangement to the considerable extent of 18-25 mol-%. Besides the expected 2, neomenthylchloride (4) and five rearrangement products have