Juanvi has worked hard in this project and now the first results have just come out. The central idea is to generate in situ, the carbonyl compound, via oxidation of an alcohol, which is involved in a subsequent asymmetric organocatalytic reacion (Henry and aldol reactions). This makes in general, the reactions more efficient.

Congratullations!

Organocatalyzed enantioselective aldol and Henry reactions
starting from benzylic alcohols, Alegre Requena J. V.; Marqués-López, E.; Herrera, R. Adv. Synth. Catal. 2017, DOI: 10.1002/adsc.201701351.

Abstract. Pioneering aldol and Henry reactions starting from alcohols are described. The aldol reaction has been successfully performed following a one-pot strategy starting from alcohols, while the Henry reaction has been carried out following a sequential protocol for the first time. In both processes, enantiomerically enriched products were obtained with good yields and high enantioselectivities. We have also demonstrated that in reactions sensitive to small amounts of acid the use of alcohols instead of aldehydes could be a good solution for improving the results of these reactions.

Keywords. alcohol; aldehyde; aldol; Henry; MnO2; organocatalysis; one-pot; oxidation.