form cyanohydrin alkyl ethers. Reactions that form racemic products proceed efficiently upon
conversion of the vinyl ether to an α-chloro ether prior to cyanide addition in a pathway that
proceeds through Brønsted acid-mediated chloride ionization. Enantiomerically enriched
products can be accessed by directly protonating the vinyl ether with a chiral Brønsted acid
to form a chiral ion pair. Me3SiCN acts as the nucleophile and PhOH serves as a …