Kinetic resolution of racemic amino alcohols through intermolecular acetalization catalyzed by a chiral Brønsted acid.

The kinetic resolution of racemic secondary alcohols is a fundamental method for obtaining enantiomerically enriched alcohols. Compared to esterification, which is a well-established method for this purpose, kinetic resolution through enantioselective intermolecular acetalization has not been reported to date despite the fact that the formation of acetals is widely adopted to protect hydroxy groups. By taking advantage of the thermodynamics of acetalization by the addition of alcohols to enol ethers, a highly efficient kinetic resolution of racemic amino alcohols was achieved for the first time and in a practical manner using a chiral phosphoric acid catalyst.