Enantioenriched Synthesis of C1-Symmetric BINOLs: Iron-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of 2-Naphthols and Some Mechanistic Insight

Highly enantioselective aerobic oxidative cross-coupling of 2-naphthols with broad substrate scope was achieved using an iron(salan) complex as the catalyst. Enantiomeric excesses of the products ranged from 87 to 95%. The scope of the cross-coupling reaction was found to be different from that of the homocoupling reaction under the same reaction conditions.