To a 250 mL round bottom flask (fitted with rubber septum and nitrogen blanket and stir bar) add Tetrahydrofuran (30 mL; 368.66 mmoles; 30.00 mL; 26.58 g), 4-(3-Trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-1H-imidazole (1.047 g; 1.00 equiv; 4.93 mmoles; 1.05 g) and cool the mixture to 0° C. with stirring on and hold for 5 min. Add sodium hydride (0.138 g; 1.11 equiv; 5.46 mmoles; 138.00 mg) to the flask and stir the reaction for 20 min. Add 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethoxymethyl chloride (1.15 mL; 1.31 equiv; 6.49 mmoles; 1.15 mL; 1.08 g) and allow the reaction to warm to room temperature. Dilute the reaction with water and extract the mixture two times with ethyl acetate and discard the aqueous phase. Dry the material over Na2SO4, filter, and concentrate to dryness. Purify the crude mixture by flash chromatography on silica gel eluting with ethyl acetate/hexane from 10-60% EtOAc. Combine the appropriate fractions and concentrated to give 4-(3-Trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-1-(2-trimethylsilanyl-ethoxymethyl)-1H-imidazole (1.178 g; 0.70 equiv; 3.44 mmoles; 1.18 g; 69.71% yield).
