Remarkable effect of 2,2'-bipyridyl: mild and highly chemoselective deprotection of methoxymethyl (MOM) ethers in combination with TMSOTf (TESOTf)-2,2'-bipyridyl.

The remarkable effect of 2,2'-bipyridyl led to the successful development of the mild and highly chemoselective deprotection method of methoxymethyl (MOM) ethers using the combination of TMSOTf (or TESOTf) and 2,2'-bipyridyl; this method can be applied to the direct conversion of the MOM group to other ethereal protective groups (e.g. benzyloxymethyl) with the corresponding alcohols.