Chemoselective deprotection of triethylsilyl ethers.

An efficient and selective method was developed for the deprotection of triethylsilyl (TES) ethers using formic acid in methanol (5-10%) or in methylene chloride 2-5%) with excellent yields. TES ethers are selectively deprotected to the corresponding alcohols in high yields using formic acid in methanol under mild reaction conditions. Other hydroxyl protecting groups like t-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) remain unaffected.