Rhodium-Catalyzed Enantioselective Isomerization of Secondary Allylic Alcohols

The first catalytic enantioselective isomerization of secondary allylic alcohols to access ketones with a alpha-tertiary stereocenter is presented. The racemic allylic alcohol substrates can be converted to the enantioenriched ketone products in a stereoconvergent fashion. The use of commercially available catalysts and mild reaction conditions makes this an attractive method in stereo selective synthesis.