Asymmetric bis(oxazoline)-Ni(II) catalyzed α-hydroxylation of cyclic β-keto esters under visible light

Org Biomol Chem. 2021 Aug 5;19(30):6588-6592. doi: 10.1039/d1ob00546d.

Abstract

Using visible light as a driving force and molecular oxygen as a green oxidant, we developed bis(oxazoline)-Ni(acac)2 catalyzed asymmetric α-hydroxylation of β-keto esters under low photosensitizer loading, and the protocol enabled an efficient transformation to provide the desired chiral α-hydroxy-β-keto esters in high yields (up to 99%) and enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) at room temperature.