Cerium ammonium nitrate (CAN) for mild and efficient reagent to remove hydroxyethyl units from 2-hydroxyethyl ethers and 2-hydroxyethyl amines

Cerium ammonium nitrate (CAN) removed hydroxyethyl units from 2-hydroxyethyl ethers and 2-hydroxyethyl amines to produce alcohols and amines in good yields. Especially, removal of the 2-hydroxyethyl ethers from C2-symmetric diols, chiral 2,3-butanediol and chiral hydrobenzoin, was very useful for asymmetric syntheses using C2-symmetric diols. The reactions using dual abilities of CAN, i.e., the ability for removal of the 2-hydroxyethyl unit and the ability for acetal hydrolysis by a single electron transfer, were also achieved successfully. The reaction conditions were very mild and efficient, and many functional groups, which can be affected under normal conditions, were unaffected during the reaction.