Enantiomerically pure 1,1'-bi-2,2'-naphthols (BINOLs) are indispensable scaffolds for asymmetric catalysis, functional materials, and bioactive molecules. Herein, we report an N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed asymmetric Atherton-Todd reaction that enables highly efficient kinetic resolution of BINOLs, affording enantioenriched phosphorylated derivatives with selectivity factors up to 492. In contrast to established acyl-transfer-based resolutions, this study establishes asymmetric phosphoryl transfer to achieve O-functionalization for BINOL resolution and highlights heteroatom-centered NHC catalysis as an underexplored paradigm in asymmetric synthesis.
Wu et al. (Sun,) studied this question.