Trimethylsilyl ether, cleavage from alcohols

Alkyl esters are efficiently dealkylated to trimethylsilyl esters with high concentrations of iodotrimethylsilane either in chloroform or sulfolane solutions at 25-80° or without solvent at 100-110°.Hydrolysis of the trimethylsilyl esters serves to release the carboxylic acid. Amines may be recovered from O-methyl, O-ethyl, and O-benzyl carbamates after reaction with iodotrimethylsilane in chloroform or sulfolane at 50—60° and subsequent methanolysis. The conversion of dimethyl, diethyl, and ethylene acetals and ketals to the parent aldehydes and ketones under aprotic conditions has been accomplished with this reagent. The reactions of alcohols (or the corresponding trimethylsilyl ethers) and aldehydes with iodotrimethylsilane give alkyl iodides and a-iodosilyl ethers,respectively. lodomethyl methyl ether is obtained from cleavage of dimethoxymethane with iodotrimethylsilane. 

The use of iodotrimethylsilane for this purpose provides an effective alternative to known methods. Thus the reaction of primary and secondary methyl ethers with iodotrimethylsilane in chloroform or acetonitrile at 25—60° for 2—64 hours affords the corresponding trimethylsilyl ethers in high yield. The alcohols may be liberated from the trimethylsilyl ethers by methanolysis. The mechanism of the ether cleavage is presumed to involve initial formation of a trimethylsilyl oxonium ion which is converted to the silyl ether by nucleophilic attack of iodide at the methyl group. tert-Butyl, trityl, and benzyl ethers of primary and secondary alcohols are rapidly converted to trimethylsilyl ethers by the action of iodotrimethylsilane, probably via heterolysis of silyl oxonium ion intermediates. The cleavage of aryl methyl ethers to aryl trimethylsilyl ethers may also be effected more slowly by reaction with iodotrimethylsilane at 25—50° in chloroform or sulfolane for 12-125 hours, with iodotrimethylsilane at 100—110° in the absence of solvent, " and with iodotrimethylsilane generated in situ from iodine and trimcthylphenylsilane at 100°. ... 

---