Mechanistic Investigations of Chiral Lithium Binaphtholate Catalysis for Asymmetric Aldol–Tishchenko Reaction of α-Fluoroarylketones

In this study, we analyzed the asymmetric aldol-Tishchenko reaction of α-fluoroarylketones with aldehydes in the presence of chiral lithium binaphtholate, which was readily prepared from a chiral BINOL derivative and lithium <i>tert</i>-butoxide. This tandem reaction afforded enantiomerically enriched 2-fluoro-1,3-diols with three contiguous stereogenic centers in high yield and with high diastereo- and enantioselectivities. Moreover, mechanistic investigations of the lithium binaphtholate-catalyzed enantioselective aldol-Tishchenko reaction were performed based on the kinetic isotope effect and computational analyses.