A family of iodooxazoline catalysts was developed to promote the iodine(III)-mediated α-tosyloxylation of ketone derivatives. The α-tosyloxy ketones produced are polyvalent chiral synthons. Through this study, we have unearthed a unique mode of stereoinduction from the chiral oxazoline moiety, where the stereogenic center alpha to the oxazoline oxygen atom is significant. Computational chemistry was used to rationalize the stereoinduction process. The catalysts presented promote currently among the best levels of activity and selectivity for this transformation. Evaluation of the scope of the reaction is presented.

The development of practical methods to access chiral nonracemic α-substituted ketones is of particular importance due to their ubiquitous nature. Unprecedented levels of enantioselectivity are reported for the synthesis of α-tosyloxy ketones, using enol esters and chiral iodine(III) reagents. The reaction can be performed under both stoichiometric and catalytic conditions. These results suggest widely different reaction mechanisms for the reaction of ketones versus enol esters, supporting recent computational insights.

The reactivity of enol esters toward [hydroxy(tosyloxy)iodo]benzene (HTIB) was assessed. These substrates were found to be rapidly converted in high yields to their corresponding α-tosyloxy ketones. This transformation demonstrates that these substrates can act as ketone surrogates. The scope of the method was investigated and aromatic, aliphatic, and cyclic enol esters were found to be suitable substrates for the reaction. The relative reactivity of a model substrate toward HTIB and m-CPBA was investigated, and it was found that the reaction could be performed under catalytic conditions.

The development of iodine(III)-mediated synthetic transformations has received growing interest, in particular to mediate enantioselective processes. In this class, the α-tosyloxylation of ketone derivatives using iodine(III) is a particularly powerful one, as it yields α-tosyloxy ketones – versatile chiral precursors that enable rapid access to numerous α-chiral ketones through nucleophilic displacement. Despite years of research from numerous groups, the enantioselectivities for this transformation have remained modest. Using quantum chemical calculations, we have uncovered a possible rational for the lack of selectivity. With these computational insights, we have developed an alternative experimental strategy and achieved unprecedented levels of selectivities. Applying this newfound knowledge, we have recently developed a new method to access α-halo ketones from non-ketonic precursors.