Enantioselective Cascade Formal Reductive Insertion of Allylic Alcohols into the C(O)–C Bond of 1,3-Diketones: Ready Access to Synthetically Valuable 3‑Alkylpentanol Units

An unprecedented cascade reaction combining dual iron–amine-catalyzed enantioselective functionalization of allylic alcohols and chemoselective acyl transfer is presented. It allows, from diketones and allylic alcohols, preparation of efficiently functionalized γ-chiral alcohols in up to 96% yield and 96:4 er. The interest of this redox-, atom-, and step-economomical approach was further demonstrated in the short synthesis of several key fragments of biologically active natural products or odorant molecules.