ZrCl4 as a mild and efficient catalyst for the one-pot conversion of TBS and THP ethers to acetates

A mild, efficient and chemoselective method has been developed for the direct transformation of tert-butyldimethylsilyl and tetrahydropyranyl protected alcohols into the corresponding acetates with acetic anhydride and zirconium(IV) chloride as the catalyst in acetonitrile, in a one-pot reaction with high yields and short reaction times. This method has been applied to a variety of substrates.