Enantioselective desymmetrization of diesters.

The desymmetrization of prochiral diesters with a chiral phosphoric acid catalyst to produce highly enantioenriched lactones in excellent yield is reported. The process is easily scaled and accommodates a variety of substitution patterns, many of which result in the generation of an enantioenriched all-carbon quaternary center. Manipulation of lactone product to useful small building blocks is also described.

Facile synthesis of versatile enantioenriched α-substituted hydroxy esters through a Brønsted acid catalyzed kinetic resolution.

An efficient synthesis of enantioenriched α-substituted γ-hydroxy esters via a kinetic resolution event is described. Bulky racemic esters in the presence of a chiral Brønsted acid selectively lactonize to yield a recoverable enantioenriched hydroxy ester and lactone. These esters are highly versatile building blocks that can readily be converted to synthetically useful materials.