Kinetic Resolution of Neopentylic Secondary Alcohols by Cu-H-Catalyzed Enantioselective Silylation with Hydrosilanes.

A nonenzymatic kinetic resolution of sterically congested alcohols having a quaternary carbon atom in the β-position is reported. The catalyst system CuCl/NaOtBu/(R,R)-Ph-BPE together with a 3,5-xylyl-substituted tertiary hydrosilane enable enantioselective silylation of the hydroxy group. Several alcohols are obtained with good to excellent selectivity factors, and there are no other known straightforward methods to access these motifs.