A New, Practical and Efficient Method for Protecting Alcohols as tert-Butyl Ethers.

A new method for protecting alcohols as <italic>tert</italic>-butyl ethers is reported. The reaction is performed in <italic>tert</italic>-butyl acetate in the presence of a catalytic amount of HClO₄. The process is extremely efficient and primary and secondary alcohols as well as diols are protected under very mild conditions. Remarkably, <italic>tert</italic>-butyl acetate can be easily recovered after the workup of the reaction and recycled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]