A palladium-catalyzed enantioselective hydroesterification of alkenylphenols with phenyl formate. A facile approach to optically active dihydrocoumarins

An effective palladium-catalyzed enantioselective hydroesterification of alkenylphenols with phenyl formate as a CO source is described. A variety of optically active dihydrocoumarins can be obtained in generally high yields with up to 91% ee.