Organolanthnoid complexes （Ln（OAr）3, Ln=Sm, Er, Yb: （MeCp）3Yb; （MeCp）2YbOR, Sm（SPh）3（HMPA）, （MeCp）2SmSPh） were found to serve as efficient catalysts precursors for the Aldol-Tishchenko reaction of butanal to give 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol monobutyrate in good to high yields under mild conditions. The yields are influenced by the structure of organolanthanoid complexes and the reaction conditions. The yield of trimerization of butanal can reach 85.4% under the certain condition.
