Lithium BINOL Phosphate Catalyzed Desymmetrization of meso‐Epoxides with Aromatic Thiols.

A highly enantioselective method for desymmetrization of meso-epoxides using thiols is reported. This is the first example of epoxide activation achieved using metal BINOL phosphates. The reaction has a broad scope in terms of epoxide substrates and aromatic thiol nucleophiles. The resulting β-hydroxyl sulfides are obtained in excellent yield and enantioselectivity.