Oxidative Kinetic Resolution of Secondary Alcohols with Salen–Mn(III)/NBS/NaClO System

The oxidative kinetic resolution of racemic secondary alcohols was efficiently catalyzed by a chiral Mn(III)–salen complex using sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) as an oxidant in the presence of 8 mol% N -bromosuccinimide (NBS) in a dichloromethylene-water mixture solvent at room temperature. Excellent ee’s (up to 99 %) of chiral secondary alcohols were achieved in most cases. Graphical Abstract Chiral Mn(III)–salen complex catalyzed oxidative kinetic resolution (OKR) of secondary alcohols has been achieved with sodium hypochlorite as an oxidant in the presence of a catalytic amount of N -bromosuccinimide. This novel protocol is very efficient for the OKR of a variety of secondary alcohols.