Enantioselective Reactions of Configurationally Unstable alpha-Thiobenzyllithium Compounds.

Too unstable for asymmetric deprotonation, alpha-sulfenyl carbanions can undergo asymmetric substitution reactions with high stereoselectivity [Eq. (1)]. The key to the asymmetric induction is the dynamic kinetic resolution of the complex formed between the organolithium compound and a chiral ligand, the most effective of which were bisoxazoline derivatives.