Ferrocenecarboxaldehyde is readily transformed into the acetal of
(S)-1,2,4-butanetriol (1,3-dioxane
structure) and further methylated to give acetal 15.
This can then be ortho-lithiated using
t-BuLi
with very high diastereoselectivity (98% de). Electrophilic
quenching provided a large array of
compounds of established stereochemistry. Controlled hydrolysis
leads to many ortho-substituted
ferrocenecarboxaldehydes (98% ee) which themselves are starting
materials in the synthesis of
various classes of enantiopure ferrocene derivatives with planar
chirality of predictable absolute
configuration.