Vanadium‐Catalyzed Oxidative Debenzylation of O‐Benzyl Ethers at ppm Level

An advantageous methodology for the oxidative debenzylation of ethers has been developed. Very low amounts of a catalyst system based on vanadyl acetylacetonate and a triazole type pincer ligand allow the selective oxidative cleavage of a number of O‐benzyl ethers in the presence of oxygen as the sole oxidant. The methodology tolerates a number of functional groups such as halo‐, alkoxy‐, or trifluoromethylarenes, alkyne, alkene, ether, and acetal units. Large‐scale deprotections can be also carried out by the optimized procedure, which is amenable to enantioenriched reactants as well. magnified image