Kinetic Resolution of Tertiary Alcohols by Chiral Organotin-Catalyzed O-Acylation.

A novel highly enantioselective method for the kinetic resolution of racemic tertiary alcohols has been achieved through chiral organotin-catalyzed intermolecular acylation of the hydroxyl group. This process has demonstrated a broad substrate scope (both alkyl- and aryl-substituted tertiary alcohols) with high enantioselectivity under mild reaction conditions, affording the corresponding products and the recovered tertiary alcohols with high enantioselectivities, with s factors up to >200.