Oxidation of Secondary Methyl Ethers to Ketones

J Org Chem. 2017 Jul 7;82(13):6671-6679. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.7b00632. Epub 2017 Jun 12.

Abstract

We present a mild way of converting secondary methyl ethers into ketones using calcium hypochlorite in aqueous acetonitrile with acetic acid as activator. The reaction is compatible with various oxygen- and nitrogen-containing functional groups and afforded the corresponding ketones in up to 98% yield. The use of this methodology could expand the application of the methyl group as a useful protecting group.