A very efficient procedure for the protection of alcohols and phenols is presented. The mixture of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) and catalytic amounts of poly(4-vinylpyridinium tribromide) was found to be effective for the trimethylsilylation of alcohols and phenols. Protection reaction is very simple and performs heterogeneously in acetonitrile at room temperature under mild conditions.
Alcohols were converted to the corresponding THP, THF or TMS ethers in high to excellent yields in 1-n-butylpyridinium chloroferrate media as a stable and low cost room temperature ionic liquid. In addition, oxidation of these ethers to their aldehydes or ketones without any overoxidation reactions in this ionic liquid was also performed.