PROCESS FOR PREPARING OPTICALLY ACTIVE ALPHA-CYANOALCOHOLS

摘要

A novel process for the preparation of optically active alcohols of the formula I wherein R1 and R2 are individually selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, saturated and unsaturated, optionally substituted aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, aromatic and heterocyclic, with the proviso that at least one of R1 and R2 is other than hydrogen, and R1 and R2 taken together with the carbon atom to which they are attached form a hydrocarbon ring comprising reacting an ester of an optically active alcohol of the formula II wherein A is the organic radical of a chiral carboxylic acid of the formula with a boron halide and reacting the resulting mixture with water to obtain the optically active isomer of the alcohol of formula I with the same configuration of the alcohol moiety of the starting ester in high yields without by-products of known processes.