Diethyl Ether → 2,2,3-Trimethyl-butanol 2,2,3-trimethyl-butanol

A 500 mL round-bottom-flask equipped with a stir bar was flushed with Ar and charged with 50 mL dry THF and a 1 M solution of LAH in Et2O (87.5 mL, 87.5 mmol, 0.625 equiv). The solution was cooled to 0° C. with an ice bath and the above ethyl ester (22.1 g, 140 mmol, 1.0 equiv) (approximately a 50% solution in ethylbenzene) was added dropwise at such a rate that the solution did not reflux (required 50 min). After addition of the ester, the reaction was stirred at 0° C. for 2 h and then at ambient temperature for 14 h. The reaction solution was re-cooled to 0° C. and carefully quenched by addition of EtOAc. 1 N NaOH was added until a granular precipitate formed (7.5 mL). The mixture was filtered on a pad of diatomaceous earth which was then washed 3×100 mL Et2O. The organics were combined and dried over Na2SO4. The solution was decanted and concentrated in vacuo to yield 2,2,3-trimethyl-butanol 2,2,3-trimethyl-butanol as a nearly colorless oil (11.7 g of alcohol in 15.4 g of a mix with ethylbenzene). The crude product was used without further purification.