Rare earth (III) perfluorooctanesulfonates catalyzed synthesis of α-hydroxy-arylacetic acids from aryl methyl ketones in fluorous media

Ytterbium perfluorooctanesulfonate (Yb(OPf)3) catalyzes the high efficient synthesis of α-hydroxy-arylacetic acids from aryl methyl ketones in the presence of SeO2 in fluorous media. By simple separation, fluorous phase containing only catalyst can be used several times.