Homogeneous azidophenylselenylation of glycals using TMSN3–Ph2Se2–PhI(OAc)2

An improved preparative method for homogeneous azidophenylselenylation of glycals is described consisting of reaction with TMSN3 and Ph2Se2 in the presence of PhI(OAc)2. The use of TMSN3 instead of NaN3 as in the heterogeneous procedure, allowed both a reduced reaction time and a scale-up that was not possible in the case of the azidophenylselenylation of substituted glycals using NaN3.