Catalytic asymmetric desymmetrization of diesters: advances and perspectives

<h2>Abstract</h2> Catalytic asymmetric desymmetrization of prochiral and <i>meso</i>-diesters has emerged as a powerful strategy for the synthesis of chiral compounds featuring tertiary or quaternary stereogenic carbon centers. This mini-review summarizes the recent progress in this rapidly growing field. The reported fruitful examples have been organized and presented according to their reaction types. In the end, a perspective on the current limitations and future opportunities is provided to inspire further developments in this area.