Enantioselective protonation of catalytically generated chiral enolates as an approach to the synthesis of alpha-chloroesters.

Treatment of alpha,alpha-dichloroaldehydes with various phenols in the presence of chiral triazolium salt catalysts and excess base results in the synthesis of alpha-chloro aryl esters in good yield and enantioselectivity. The reaction is tolerant of various functionality on the aldehyde as well as several electronically diverse phenols. The product chloroesters were further transformed into chloroacid, chlorohydrin, and azidoesters with nearly complete retention of enantioselectivity.

Conversion of alpha-haloaldehydes into acylating agents by an internal redox reaction catalyzed by nucleophilic carbenes.

Reactivity umpolung allows us to consider nontraditional bond disconnections. We report herein that treatment of an alpha-haloaldehyde with a nucleophile in the presence of catalytic amounts of nucleophilic carbenes results in an internal redox reaction giving rise to a dehalogenated acylating agent as an intermediate by a new reaction manifold. A brief illustration of the scope of this reaction is presented along with evidence supporting the direct intervention of the carbene in the acylation step.

Stereoretentive O-to-C rearrangement of vinyl acetals: solvent cage effects as a stereocontrol element.

The Lewis acid-mediated rearrangement of chiral vinyl acetals may be induced to provide the product of stereoretention using Me3Al and BF3.OEt2 in concert. The selectivities obtained in this reaction (86:14 to 96:4) are complementary to that observed when relying on oxocarbenium facial bias to control the newly formed stereocenter. Evidence is presented that this reaction occurs by tight ion-pair binding in the solvent cage. The relay of C-O bond stereochemistry to a C-C bond stereocenter via ionic intermediates is an addition to similar established methods such as the Claisen rearrangement.