Chiral benzylic hydroperoxides

Kinetic resolutions. A chiral alcohol is obtained on. selective removal of one enantiomer by acetylation using a chiral analog 1 of DMAP, or by oxidation based on hydrogen transfer to acetone mediated by a Ru complex 2. Benzylic secondary alcohols are resolved by selective pivaloylation with optically activeA-pivaloyl-4-t-butylthiazolidine-2-thione. A kinetic resolution of sulfoxides is based on asymmetric oxidation with (i-PrO)4Ti-cumyl hydroperoxide in the presence of a tartrate ester. Kinetic resolution of 1,3-diarylallenes is realized by selective oxidation with NaClO catalyzed by a chiral (salen)manganese(III) complex, whereas asymmetric hydrolysis of terminal epoxides with the aid of a chiral (salen)cobalt(II) catalyst solves the problem of their accessibility. 

A general synthesis for all diastereomeric L-hexoses, as an example for monosaccharides that often do not occur in the chiral pool, has been worked out. The epoxidation of allylic alcohols with tertiary butyl hydroperoxide in presence of titanyl tartaric ester catalysts converts the carbon-carbon double bond stereose-lectively to a diol and is thus ideally suited for the preparation of carbohydrates. The procedure is particularly useful as a repetitive two-carbon homologiza-tion in total syntheses of higher monosaccharides and other poly hydroxy compounds. It starts with a Wittig reaction of a benzylated a-hydroxy aldehyde with (triphenylphosphoran-ylidene)acetaldehyde to produce the olefinic double bond needed for epoxidation. Reduction with sodium-borohydride... 

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