Cobalt(III)-Catalyzed Diastereo- and Enantioselective Three-Component C–H Functionalization

Catalytic enantioselective C–H functionalization has recently become a tool for the creation of stereogenic centers. The steep increase in molecular complexity of multicomponent reactions matches very well with asymmetric C–H functionalizations, but the realization of such processes remains a large challenge. We describe a diastereoselective and highly enantioselective three-component C–H functionalization catalyzed by an earth-abundant Co(III) complex equipped with a chiral cyclopentadienyl ligand (Cpx). The transformation provides a rapid access to substituted β-hydroxyketones using three readily accessible starting materials. The outlined reactivity of CpxCo(III) catalysis shows a higher and exploitable propensity for selective additions across carbonyls in contrast to the chemistry of Rh(III).