A mild and selective method for N-dealkylation of tertiary amines

Alkyl groups can be cleaved efficiently and selectively from tertiary alkyl amines using propargyl chloroformate. The propargyloxycarbonyl (Poc) protected secondary amines thus obtained can be deblocked under neutral and mild conditions using benzyltriethylammonium tetrathiomolybdate. The generality and compatibility of the method have been studied with a wide range of functionalities.