Convenient syntheses of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-organyl-propan-2-ols and the corresponding trimethylsilyl ethers

A new convenient synthetic procedure to obtain various 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-organyl-propan-2-ols and the corresponding trimethylsilyl ethers has been worked out starting from anhydrides or activated esters of carboxylic acids and trimethyl(trifluoromethyl)silane in the presence of tetramethylammonium fluoride. Conditions for the selective formation of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-organyl-propan-2-ols as well as the trimethylsilyl derivatives have been found.