Enantioselective Palladium-Catalyzed Insertion of [alpha]-Aryl-[alpha]-diazoacetates into the OH Bonds of Phenols

A palladium-catalyzed asymmetric OH insertion reaction was developed. Palladium complexes with chiral spiro bisoxazoline ligands promoted the insertion of [alpha]-aryl-[alpha]-diazoacetates into the OH bond of phenols with high yield and excellent enantioselectivity under mild reaction conditions. This palladium-catalyzed asymmetric OH insertion reaction provided an efficient and highly enantioselective method for the preparation of synthetically useful optically active [alpha]-aryl-[alpha]-aryloxyacetates. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]