Highly enantioselective one-pot synthesis of chiral β-hydroxy sulfones via asymmetric transfer hydrogenation in an aqueous medium.

A mild transformation in an aqueous medium for the one-pot synthesis of optically active β-hydroxy sulfones is described. The intermediates of β-keto sulfones obtained via a nucleophilic substitution reaction of α-bromoketones and sodium sulfinates in H2O/MeOH (1:3, v/v) at 50 °C were reduced through Ru-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation in one-pot using HCOONa as a hydrogen source providing a variety of chiral β-hydroxy sulfones with high yields and excellent enantioselectivities.