Rapid Deprotection of O- and N‑Benzyl Groups by Catalytic Transfer Hydrogenation with Industrially Viable Silane Reagents

The use of these cost-effective hydrogen sources eliminates the need for molecular hydrogen, significantly improving process safety while providing a rapid and efficient approach to debenzylation.

Operating under mild reaction conditions and ambient pressure, this methodology is designed for pharmaceutical applications where avoiding hazardous gas handling is a priority. The developed system efficiently cleaves benzyl esters, benzyl ethers, and <i>N</i>-benzyl amines, affording the corresponding deprotected products in short reaction times and consistently high yields (82–98%). Importantly, the reaction byproducts can be readily removed by standard industrial unit operations, including extraction, distillation, and crystallization, eliminating the need for labor-intensive purification techniques such as column chromatography.