Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.132, No.49, 17370-17373, 2010
Kinetic Resolution of Homoaldols via Catalytic Asymmetric Transacetalization
The highly enantioselective kinetic resolution of homoaldols via a transacetalization reaction has been achieved. A novel phosphoric acid, STRIP, based on a spirocyclic 1,1'-spirobiindane backbone was designed and identified as a superior catalyst for this transformation. Remarkably, both secondary and tertiary homoaldols gave equally excellent results.