Highly enantioselective hydrosilylation of aromatic alkenes.
Currently, the most effective and economic way to convert an alkene into an optically active alcohol is the two-step sequence: hydrosilylation/oxidation. Much work has been devoted to elucidating effective catalysts for this process, but hitherto only one effective and highly stereoselective process has been available. Herein we present a novel catalytic system for the asymmetric hydrosilylation of aromatic alkenes, giving the products in high yields and with the highest enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee) ever observed for this reaction. The reaction works efficiently for a variety of substituted aromatic alkenes, giving access after Tamao oxidation to almost optically pure benzylic alcohols in high yields.
Jensen
Jakob F
JF
Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, Building 201, DK-2800 Kgs Lyngby, Denmark.
Svendsen
Bo Y
BY
la Cour
Thomas V
TV
Pedersen
Henriette L
HL
Johannsen
Mogens
M