Extraordinary Effect of Microwave Irradiation on Asymmetric Catalysis

Abstract We here report the effect of microwave irradiation on the atropo-enantioselective ring-opening reaction of biaryl lactones with dynamic–kinetic resolution catalyzed by AgBF4–phosphine complexes. The multimode microwave reactor with a cooling system was employed and the fiber-optic sensor was used for measurement of the accurate internal reaction temperature. It was found that the reaction was accelerated by microwave irradiation without any loss of enantioselectivity at almost the same internal temperature as the conventional conditions.