Ethanol: Unlocking an Abundant Renewable C2‐Feedstock for Catalytic Enantioselective C−C Coupling

With annual production at >85 million tons/year, ethanol is the world's largest‐volume renewable small molecule carbon source, yet its use as a C2‐feedstock in enantioselective C−C coupling is unknown. Here, the first catalytic enantioselective C−C couplings of ethanol are demonstrated in reactions with structurally complex, nitrogen‐rich allylic acetates incorporating the top 10 N‐heterocycles found in FDA‐approved drugs. Maize to medicine! With annual production at >85 million tons/year, ethanol is the world's largest‐volume renewable small molecule carbon source, yet its use as a C2‐feedstock in enantioselective C−C coupling is unknown. The first catalytic enantioselective C−C couplings of ethanol are demonstrated in reactions with structurally complex, nitrogen‐rich allylic acetates incorporating the top 10 N‐heterocycles found in FDA‐approved drugs.