Scandium-bipyridine-catalyzed, enantioselective selenol addition to aromatic meso-epoxides

A chiral scandium-bipyridine complex catalyzes the highly enantioselective addition of phenylselenol to aromatic meso-epoxides and furnishes 1,2-seleno alcohols in good yields and up to 94% ee. In addition, a sequential, one-pot epoxide opening-reduction protocol has been developed for the direct synthesis of 1,2-diaryl carbinols.