A mild and efficient method for N-alkylation of aromatic amines with various acetals such as aryl, alkyl, cyclic and acyclic acetals was developed. A number of aromatic amines bearing electron-donating or electron-withdrawing substituents were directly alkylated by acetals with excellent yields. The method uses a catalytic amount of I 2 and triethylsilane as the hydride source without a metal present. Monoalkylation with excellent chemoselectivity was observed.

Acid sensitive benzyl and trityl ethers are frequently used as protecting groups to mask alcohols. They are also needed to be transformed into more stable ester groups toward acids in multistep synthesis. A mild and efficient one-pot protocol for the selective transformation of benzyl and trityl ethers into their corresponding acetates was successfully developed. Several distinct advantages to this procedure include direct transformation, minimal generation of waste, a non-aqueous workup and the recovery and recycling of the benzyl acetate and trityl alcohol by-products, which were readily recovered in greater than 90% yields.

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on silica as heterogeneous reusable catalyst allows the selective conversion of primary benzyl and trityl ethers into acetates. In case of the xylofuranose derivatives (VII) the anomeric isopropylidene groups remain intact whereas they are cleaved for the substrate (V). The two benzyl groups in acetal (XI) are inert and selective deprotection of the dimethyl acetal groups is observed. -(LIU, N.-N.; YU, P.; YUAN, W.-Y.; ZHANG, Q.-S.; WU*, Q.-P.; J. Chin. Chem. Soc. (Weinheim, Ger.) 61 (2014) 9, 985-989, http://dx.

A tandem procedure catalyzed by CuI has been developed for the synthesis of 1,2,3-triazole thioethers. Treatment of iodo 1,2,3-triazole with sulfur and followed by reduction with NaBH 4 and alkylation with alkylhalides or tosylates in one-pot forms various triazole thioethers under mild conditions. This sequential reaction exhibits remarkable features, such as efficiency, broad substrate scope, good functional group tolerance and easy operation.