Iron Phosphate Catalyzed Asymmetric Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling of 2-Naphthols with β-Ketoesters.

Chiral iron phosphate complexes were successfully exploited for asymmetric cross-dehydrogenative coupling reactions between 2-naphthols and β-ketoester derivatives. On the basis of kinetic studies, it is suggested that iron monophosphate complexes constitute the active catalysts that induce stereoselectivity during the carbon-carbon bond-formation step.