2-(Diethylamino) ethanethiol, a new reagent for the odorless deprotection of aromatic methyl ethers

A new reagent for the deprotection of aromatic methyl ethers, 2-(diethylamino) ethanethiol, is reported. This compound, commercially available as its HCl salt, affords the corresponding phenols in good to excellent yields on a wide variety of substrates. A clear advantage of this method over the use of more common thiols, such as ethanethiol, is the easy extraction of both the deprotecting reagent and the byproduct 2-(diethylamino) ethyl methyl sulfide into the aqueous phase by quenching with dilute acid, which allows an essentially odorless workup.