To a solution of 16.3 g (38.8 mmol) of 6-tert-butyl-4-(3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)-5-methoxy-2-methylindan-1-one in 200 ml of THF cooled to 5° C. 1.47 g (38.9 mmol) of NaBH4 was added. Further on, 80 ml of methanol was added dropwise to this mixture by vigorous stirring for ca. 7 h at 5° C. The resulting mixture was evaporated to dryness, and the residue was treated by 300 ml of dichloromethane and 300 ml of 2 M HCl. The organic layer was separated, the aqueous layer was additionally extracted with 100 ml of dichloromethane. The combined organic extract was evaporated to dryness to give a colorless oil. To a solution of this oil in 250 ml of toluene 0.1 g of TsOH was added, this mixture was refluxed with Dean-Stark head for 15 min and then cooled to room temperature using water bath. The resulting solution was washed by 10% aqueous Na2CO3. The organic layer was separated, the aqueous layer was extracted with 2×50 ml of dichloromethane. The combined organic extract was dried over K2CO3 and then passed through a short layer of silica gel 60 (40-63 um). The silica gel layer was additionally washed by 100 ml of dichloromethane. The combined organic elute was evaporated to dryness to give 15.7 g (99%) of a white crystalline product which was further used without an additional purification.
