Oxidation of Secondary Methyl Ethers to Ketones

We present a mild way of converting secondary methyl ethers into ketones using calcium hypochlorite in aqueous acetonitrile with acetic acid as activator. The reaction is compatible with various oxygen- and nitrogen-containing functional groups and afforded the corresponding ketones in up to 98% yield. The use of this methodology could expand the application of the methyl group as a useful protecting group.