Mild and efficient silylation of alcohols and phenols with HMDS using Bi(OTf)3 under solvent-free condition

A very efficient and mild silylation of alcohols and phenols with hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) at rt is developed using Bi(OTf)3 as the catalyst. Primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols as well as phenols are excellently converted into corresponding TMS ethers in a very short reaction time. This procedure can also be applied to large scale silylation for industrial application.