Practical and efficient multigram preparation of a camphor-derived diol for the enantioselective Lewis acid catalyzed allylboration of aldehydes

Chiral diols are important molecules with widespread use as chiral auxiliaries and ligands in enantioselective synthesis. Therefore, efficient and practical syntheses of highly dissymmetrical nonracemic diols are still a meaningful pursuit. Two new routes to access camphor-derived chiral diol 1 have been developed. One route employs camphorquinone (3) as the starting material, affording in only two steps the desired diol in 55% overall yield. The second route, from camphor (2), leads to the desired diol in an efficient four-step synthesis, with an overall yield of 55%.