Naphthalene is a hydrocarbon produced by the distillation of coal tar and is an aromatic white crystalline substance. Naphthalene is the most abundant component in coal tar. It is used as an insect repellant and insect fumigant. The compound is used in the manufacture of celluloid, dyes, hydrogenated naphthalenes, oil fumes, smokeless powders and synthetic resins.
Dioxolane is a heterocyclic acetal with the formula (CH2)2O2CH2. It is related to tetrahydrofuran by exchanging an oxygen for the CH2 group. The isomer 1,2-dioxolane (in which the two oxygen centers are adjacent) is a peroxide. 1,3-Dioxolane is used as solvent and comonomer in polyacetal. The dioxolane-type and their hydrogenolysis can provide very valuable partially protected building blocks either for oligosaccharide syntheses or sugar transformations.