Highly enantioselective addition of phenylethynylzinc to aldehydes catalyzed by chiral cyclopropane-based amino alcohols

Abstract

The enantioselective addition of phenylethynylzinc to aldehydes catalyzed by a series of cyclopropane-based amino alcohol ligands 7 was investigated. The reactions afforded chiral propargylic alcohols in high yields (up to 96%) and with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee) under mild conditions. Furthermore, studies on the structural relationship show that the matching of the chiral center configuration is crucial to obtain the high enantioselectivity. © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.