New oxidative pathways for the synthesis of α-hydroxy ketones—the α-hydroxylation and ketohydroxylation

α-Hydroxy ketones serve as versatile intermediates in organic chemistry. Although this functional group combination allows a variety of synthetic manipulation, catalytic methods for the selective generation of this structural motif, via oxidation of carbonyl compounds (α-hydroxylation) or olefins (ketohydroxylation), have recently been developed. The present review gives a brief overview of the recent developments in the field of catalytic α-hydroxylations and ketohydroxylations, with a focus on the latter reaction.

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