Enantioselective reduction of trifluoromethyl ketones with chiral organomagnesium amides (COMAs).
Chiral organomagnesium amides (COMAs), readily prepared from dialkylmagnesiums and chiral secondary amines, can reduce trifluoromethyl ketones to form secondary alcohols with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98:2 er) and chemical yields (typically >95% conversion, >85% isolated yields). These MPV-type reductions use an achiral hydride source, and the chiral amine is readily recovered. [reaction: see text]
Yong
Kelvin H
KH
Guelph-Waterloo Centre for Graduate Work in Chemistry and Biochemistry (GWC)(2), University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1.
Chong
J Michael
JM