Regioselective silylation of 5-(2′-hydroxyethyl)cyclopent-2-en-1-ol and 6-(2′-hydroxyethyl)cyclohex-2-en-1-ol

Herein we report regioselective and mild reactions for the tert-butyldimethylsilyl mono-protection of 5-(2′-hydroxyethyl)cyclopent-2-en-1-ol (2) and 6-(2′-hydroxyethyl)cycohex-2-en-1-ol (5) at the primary hydroxyl group or at the secondary allylic hydroxyl group. The different steric environment surrounding the secondary allylic and saturated primary alcohols is mainly invoked to rationalize the observed regioselectivity.