Catalytic asymmetric dihydroxylation

OsO4 is an efficient catalyst for the stereospecific cis-dihydroxylation of olefins and this asymmetric dihydroxylation (AD) enables the synthesis of diols in quantitative yield. Rate acceleration and selectivity in this nonenzymatic catalyst depend on noncovalent binding, and the AD is an example of 'ligand accelerated catalysis.' Though AD catalysts exhibit few similarities with enzyme catalysts, they exhibit significant selectivity and capacity to produce both enantiomers.