Asymmetric α-Chlorination of β-Keto Esters Using Hypervalent Iodine-Based Cl-Transfer Reagents in Combination with Cinchona Alkaloid Catalysts.

We herein report an unprecedented strategy for the asymmetric α-chlorination of β-keto esters with hypervalent iodine-based Cl-transfer reagents using simple Cinchona alkaloid catalysts. Our investigations support an α-chlorination mechanism where the Cinchona species serves as a nucleophilic catalyst by reacting with the chlorinating agent to generate a chiral electrophilic Cl-transfer reagent in situ. Using at least 20 mol-% of the alkaloid catalyst allows for good yields and enantioselectivities for a variety of different β-keto esters under operationally simple conditions.