The selective monosilylation of 1,2-diols catalyzed by dimethyltin dichloride was successfully developed. This procedure was applied to various 1,2-diols, giving monosilylated products in good to excellent yields with high chemoselectivity. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Ex‐changing places: A highlyenantioselectivedesymmetrization of 1,2‐diols has been developed in which the catalyst utilizes reversible covalent bonding to the substrate to achieve both high selectivity and rate acceleration (see scheme, PMP=pentalmethylpiperidine, TBS=tert‐butyldimethylsilyl). Induced intramolecularity is responsible for the enhanced rate, thus allowing the reaction to be performed at