• Primary and secondary alcohols can be protected as photolabile 2-benzoylbenzoate esters. Esterification can be accomplished in the presence of DCC/DMAP, and the ester is cleaved by photolysis in the presence of a reducing agent such as isopropanol or an amine, in which case the by-product is 3-phenylphthalide. The method has also been applied to the protection of thiols: J. Org. Chem., 61, 9455 (1996).