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

<p>Catalytic enantioselective C&ndash;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&ndash;H functionalizations, but the realization of such processes remains a large challenge. We describe a diastereoselective and highly enantioselective three-component C&ndash;H functionalization catalyzed by an earth-abundant Co(III) complex equipped with a chiral cyclopentadienyl ligand (Cp^x). The transformation provides a rapid access to substituted &beta;-hydroxyketones using three readily accessible starting materials. The outlined reactivity of Cp^xCo(III) catalysis shows a higher and exploitable propensity for selective additions across carbonyls in contrast to the chemistry of Rh(III).</p>