Rhodium-catalyzed oxygen transfer was used to generate benzyl 2-silyl-2-oxoacetates in good yields. The hydrogenation of these compounds led to chiral α-silyl-substituted α- hydroxyacetic acids. Resolution by means of HPLC using a chiral stationary phase afforded an enantiomerically pure representative of this class of compounds, which was successfully applied as a chiral ligand in an asymmetric aldol-type reaction.
