Boric acid has been used as a green, selective and recyclable catalyst for trimethysilylation of alcohols and phenols using hexamethyldisilazane in acetonitrile. Deprotection of trimethylsilyl ethers to their parent alcohols and phenols was also achieved using this catalyst in water at room temperature. The salient features of this methodology are cheap processing, mild acidity conditions, excellent yields of products and easy availability of the catalyst.
