Recent Developments on the Synthesis and Cleavage of tert-Butyl Ethers and Esters for Synthetic Purposes and Fuel Additive Uses

tert-Butyl esters are frequently employed in multi-step synthesis, especially with amino acid derivatives, and their importance is well established. On the contrary, tert-butyl ethers received less attention owing to the difficulties in their preparation and cleavage. Recently the tert-butyl ethers found employment also as fuel additives thus their synthesis became important and various protocols were developed. The present article will cover the developments of the synthesis and cleavage of the tert-butyl esters and the tert-butyl ethers in the new millennium.