Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.137, No.5, 1778-1781, 2015
Resolution of Diols via Catalytic Asymmetric Acetalization
A highly enantioselective kinetic resolution of diols via asymmetric acetalization has been achieved using a chiral confined imidodiphosphoric acid catalyst. The reaction is highly efficient for the resolution of tertiary alcohols, giving selectivity factors of up to >300. Remarkably, even in cases where the selectivity factors are only moderate, highly enantioenriched diols are obtained via a stereodivergent resolution to diastereomeric acetals.