Asymmetric Synthesis of Functionalized Secondary Alcohols by Catalytic Ring-Cleavage Reactions of Cyclic Acetals Derived from (R)-1,3-Butanediol.

In the presence of a catalytic amount (0.1-0.2 molar amount) of a 2-phenyl-1,3,2-oxazaborolidin-5-one, prepared by the reaction of dichlorophenylborane and N-(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)-L-phenylalanine, and enol silyl ethers ((R(2))(2)C=C(R(3))OTMS; R(3) = t-BuS, EtS, EtO, Ph) (1.1-1.5 molar amount), chiral cyclic acetals 6 derived from (R)-1,3-butanediol and aldehydes undergo an efficient ring-cleavage reaction with the inversion of the stereochemistry at the acetal carbon to give the anti isomer of the corresponding products with high stereoselectivity. The reaction is applicable to acetals derived from aromatic, aliphatic, and alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes. Not only enol silyl ethers, but also methallyltrimethylsilane and allyltributyltin, can be employed as nucleophiles, leading to the selective formation of the anti isomer of the corresponding allylated ring-cleavage products. Removal of the chiral auxiliary from these ring-cleavage products by a two-step sequence ((i) PCC (ii) Bn(2)NH(2)(CF3CO2)) furnishes enantiomerically enriched beta-hydroxy carbonyl compounds and homoallyl alcohols. A modest level of kinetic resolution is observed in the ring cleavage of a racemic acetal catalyzed by a phenylboron compound derived from N-mesyl-L-phenylalanine.