Facile Synthesis of Versatile Enantioenriched α‑Substituted Hydroxy Esters through a Brønsted Acid Catalyzed Kinetic Resolution

An efficient synthesis of enantioenriched α-substituted γ-hydroxy esters via a kinetic resolution event is described. Bulky racemic esters in the presence of a chiral Brønsted acid selectively lactonize to yield a recoverable enantioenriched hydroxy ester and lactone. These esters are highly versatile building blocks that can readily be converted to synthetically useful materials.