Enantioselective N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Catalyzed Kinetic Resolution of Anilides.

The N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed enantioselective kinetic resolution of anilides (a kind of hemiaminals) is reported. Upon exposure to the reaction in the presence of an NHC precatalyst and base, catalytic C-O bond formation occurs, providing axially chiral isoindolinones in high yields with excellent enantioselectivities.