A One-Pot Two-Step Synthesis of Tertiary Alcohols Combining the Biocatalytic Laccase/tempo Oxidation System with Organolithium Reagents in Aerobic Aqueous Media at Room Temperature

The one-pot/two-step combination of enzymes and polar organometallic chemistry in aqueous media is for the first time presented as a proof-of-concept study. The unprecedented combination of the catalytic oxidation of secondary alcohols by the system laccase/TEMPO with the ultrafast addition (3 s reaction time) of polar organometallic reagents (RLi/RMgX) to the in situ formed ketones, run under air at room temperature, allows the straightforward and chemoselective synthesis of tertiary alcohols with broad substrate scope and excellent conversions (up to 96%).