A revised mechanism for chemoselective reduction of esters with borane-dimethyl sulfide complex and catalytic sodium tetrahydroborate directed by adjacent hydroxyl group
The plausible mechanism for the reduction of the ester groups with a strong preference for one located α to the hydroxyl groups of S-malates and R,R-tartrate-based derivatives has been proposed together with some results with regard to its applications to the syntheses of chiral synthons.