Mild water-promoted selective deacetalisatison of acyclic acetalsElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental procedures, analytical data, copies of NMR spectra. See DOI: 10.1039/c0gc00280a

Various aliphatic and aromatic dimethyl and diethyl acetals and ketals were found to hydrolyse in essentially quantitative yield when heated to 80 °C in neat water or aqueous medium without a catalyst or any other additive, while cyclic acetals were stable under these conditions. Selective deprotection is possible when both types of acetal are present. Acyclic acetals deprotect in uncatalysed reactions in aqueous medium while cyclic acetals remain intact; selectivity is also shown.