Enantioselective intramolecular openings of oxetanes catalyzed by (salen)Co(III) complexes: access to enantioenriched tetrahydrofurans

The (salen)Co(III) complexes are used for catalyzing the catalytic enantioselective intramolecular ring-opening of oxetanes with alcohols. This method has produced enantioenriched 3-substituted tetrahydrofurans and has extended the range of electrophiles that can be activated toward highly enantioselective addition reactions by (salen)metal catalysts to an important new class.