1-(tert-Butylperoxy)-1,2-benziodoxol-3(1H)-one (1a) oxidizes benzyl and allyl ethers to the esters at room temperature in benzene or cyclohexane in the presence of alkali metal carbonates. Since this reaction is compatible with other protecting groups such as MOM, THP, and TBDMS ethers, and acetoxy groups, and because esters are readily hydrolyzed under basic conditions, this new method provides a convenient and effective alternative to the usual reductive deprotection. Oxidation with la occurs readily with C-H bonds activated by both enthalpic effects (benzylic, allylic, and propargylic C-H bonds) and/or polar effects (alpha-oxy C-H bonds), generating alpha-oxy carbon-centered radicals, which can be detected by nitroxyl radical trapping, Measurement of the relative rates of oxidation for a series of ring-substituted benzyl n-butyl ethers 2d and 2p-s indicated that electron-releasing groups such as p-MeO and p-Me groups increase the rate of oxidation, and Hammett correlation of the relative rate factors with the of constants of substituents afforded the reaction constant p(+) = -0.30. The large value of the isotope effect obtained for the oxidation of benzyl n-butyl ether 2d (k(H)/k(D) = 12-14) indicates that the rate-determining step of the reactions probably involves a high degree of benzylic C-H bond breaking, The effects of molecular dioxygen were examined, and the mechanism involving the intermediacy of the tert-butylperoxy acetal 5 and/or the hydroperoxy acetal 32 is proposed. Particularly noteworthy is the finding that (tert-butylperoxy)iodane 1a can generate the tert-butylperoxy radical and the iodine-centered radical 33a, even at room temperature in solution, via homolytic bond cleavage of the hypervalent iodine(III)-peroxy bond.