Highly enantioselective hydroxymethylation of unmodified α-substituted aryl ketones in water

Catalytic asymmetric direct-type aldol reactions of ketones with aldehydes are a perennial puzzle for organic chemists. Notwithstanding the emergence of a myriad of chiral catalysts to address the inherent reversibility of the aldol products, a general method to access acyclic α-chiral ketones from prochiral aryl ketones has remained an unmet synthetic challenge. The approach outlined herein is fundamentally different to that used in conventional catalysis, which typically commences with an α-proton abstraction by a Brønsted base. The use of a chiral 2,2'-bipyridine scandium complex enabled the hydroxymethylation of propiophenone to be run under base-free conditions, which avails effectual suppression of hydrolytic deactivation of the Lewis acid catalyst. Intriguingly, the use of water as a reaction medium had an overriding effect on the progress of the reaction. The sagacious selection of sodium dodecyl sulfate and lithium dodecyl sulfate as surfactants allowed a variety of propiophenone derivatives to react in a highly enantioselective manner.