Arylsulfonates of hindered secondary alcohols are converted to the corresponding alkyl chlorides very rapidly and in good yields in the presence of titanium tetrachloride at low temperatures. These reactions proceed with exclusive retention of configuration.

An acid-catalysed Ritter reaction of chiral secondary benzylic alcohols enables diastereoselective access to chiral amides, which represent inter alia valuable intermediates for the synthesis of chiral 1,2-diamines and beta-amino acids.

Treatment of primary or secondary alcohols with 1-phenyl-1(H)-tetrazole-5-thiol and [Me(2)NCHSEt](+) BF(4)(-) leads directly and cleanly to 1-phenyl-1(H)-tetrazol-5-yl sulfides.

Potassium perruthenate (KRuO4), a known, effective oxidant for the conversion of primary and secondary alcohols into carbonyl compounds is impregnated into zeolite X and shown to be a shape-selective oxidant using benzyl alcohol (reacted) and pyrenemethanol (not reacted).

Chiral aziridine sulfides and disulfides were synthesized from readily available and inexpensive R-cysteine by a Mitsunobu reaction; their application in the addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes provides secondary alcohols with up to 99% ee and S-configuration.

Alkyl oxalates are new bench-stable alcohol-activating groups for radical generation under visible light photoredox conditions. Using these precursors, the first net redox-neutral coupling of tertiary and secondary alcohols with electron-deficient alkenes is achieved.

A series of enantiopure MOP-phosphonite ligands, with tailored steric profiles, have been synthesised and are proven to be very successful in high-yielding, regio- and enantioselective catalytic hydrosilylation reactions of substituted styrenes, affording important chiral secondary alcohols.