Carbene-Catalyzed Dynamic Kinetic Resolution of Carboxylic Esters.

Carbene-catalyzed reaction of carboxylic esters has the potential to offer effective synthetic solutions that cannot be readily achieved by using the more conventional aldehyde-type substrates. Here we report the first carbene-catalyzed dynamic kinetic resolution of α,α-disubstituted carboxylic esters with up to 99:1 er and 99% yield. The present study clearly illustrates the unique power of carbene-catalyzed reactions of readily available and easy to handle carboxylic esters.