General description

Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (also known as Triflic acid, TFMSA or TfOH) is an organic acid that is commonly used as a reagent in organic synthesis due to its strong Bronsted acidity, finding applications in catalysis, N-protection, dehydration, activation, and addition reactions.^, TFMSA is also used for global deprotection and cleavage in Boc SPPS.

Associated Protocols and Technical Articles
Cleavage and Deprotection Protocols for Boc SPPS

Literature references:
^[1]L. R. Subramanian, et al. (2001) Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis.
^[2] R. D. Howells & J. D. Mc Cown JD (1977) Chem. Rev., 77, 69.
^[3] J. Stewart, J. Young in “Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis”, Pierce Chemical Company, Rockford, 1984.

Application

Recent applications of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid include:

A dehydrating agent for the conversion of secondary alcohols to alkene, or the preparation of anhydrides from carboxylic acids.
An acid catalyst in the synthesis of carbohydrates and glycosides.
An activating agent for the activation of carboxylic acids and can be used for the synthesis of carboxylic acid derivatives such as esters, amides, and anhydrides.