Mild and selective deprotection of tert -butyl(dimethyl)silyl ethers with catalytic amounts of sodium tetrachloroaurate(III) dihydrate

Abstract

A simple and mild method for the removal of tert-butyl(dimethyl)silyl (TBS) protecting groups with catalytic amounts of sodium tetrachloroaurate(III) dihydrate is described. The procedure permits selective deprotection of aliphatic TBS ethers in good to excellent yields in the presence of aromatic TBS ethers, aliphatic triisopropylsilyl ethers, aliphatic tert-butyl(diphenyl)silyl ethers, or sterically hindered aliphatic TBS ethers. Additionally, TBS ethers can also be transformed into 4-methoxybenzyl ethers or methyl ethers in one pot by using larger quantities of the catalyst and a higher reaction temperature.