LAUSR

A highly efficient, catalytic strategy for the deprotection of classical phenacyl (Pac) as well as desyl (Dsy) protection groups has been developed using visible light photoredox catalysis. The deliberate use of a neutral two-phase acetonitrile/water mixture with K3PO4 applying catalytic amounts of [Ru(bpy)3](PF6)2 in combination with ascorbic acid is the key to this truly catalytic deprotection of Pac- and Dsy-protected carboxylic acids. Our mild yet robust protocol allows for fast and selective liberation of the free carboxylic acids in very good to quantitative yields, while only low catalyst loadings (1 mol %) are required. Both Pac and Dsy, easily introduced from commercially available precursors, can be applied for the direct protection of carboxylic acids and amino acids, offering orthogonality to a great variety of other common protecting groups. We further demonstrate the general applicability and versatility of these formerly underrated protecting groups in combination with our catalytic cleavag...