Stereocontrolled synthesis of 1,3-diols from enones: cooperative Lewis base-mediated intramolecular carbonyl hydrosilylations.

A streamlined synthesis of β-hydroxy ketone substrates has been developed to further investigate a recently discovered cooperative Lewis base-mediated intramolecular carbonyl hydrosilylation reaction. The synthesis features an enone β-borylation/oxidation sequence that has proven to be quite general and high-yielding. This has allowed for additional investigations into the diastereoselectivity of the hydrosilylation reaction through the preparation of important polyketide fragments.