The trimethylsilyl (TMS) group is widely used in carbohydrate synthesis, although this protecting group is unstable and its post-synthetic purification challenging. The successful trimethylsilylation of carbohydrates mediated by recyclable and efficient acidic catalyst PTA/HMDS and the novel reagent, TMSOAc (TEA/TMSOAc), under alkaline condition is reported. The advantages of these methods are that