Synthesis of All Four Stereoisomers of 6,10,13‐Trimethyltetradecan‐2‐one, a Sex Pheromone Component Produced by Males of the Stink Bug Pallantia macunaima

Abstract The stink bug Pallantia macunaima (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) is a soybean pest in southern Brazil, and the males produce 6,10,13‐trimethyltetradecan‐2‐one to communicate with females. All four stereoisomers of the sex pheromone were synthesized by coupling two chiral building blocks, which were synthesized from ( S )‐ and ( R )‐propylene oxides using stereospecific inversion of secondary tosylates as a key reaction. The enantiomeric purities of the building blocks were confirmed by chiral HPLC analysis.