Highly enantioselective addition of dimethylzinc to fluorinated alkyl ketones, and the mechanism behind it

Switching the solvent from toluene to dichloromethane results in a very important enhancement in the yield and enantiomeric excess of nucleophilic addition.

Chemo- and Enantioselective Addition and β-Hydrogen Transfer Reduction of Carbonyl Compounds with Diethylzinc Reagent in One Pot Catalyzed by a Single Chiral Organometallic Catalyst

Using a single chiral phosphoramide-Zn(II) complex as the catalyst, the asymmetric β-H transfer reduction of aromatic α-trifluoromethyl ketones and enantioselective addition of aromatic aldehydes with Et2Zn in one pot were successfully realized, affording the corresponding additive products of secondary alcohols in high yields (up to 99%) with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee) and the reduction products of α-trifluoromethyl alcohols in good to excellent yields with up to 77% ee.

Polymer-immobilized chiral catalysts

This review illustrates the current strategies and potential of polymer-immobilized chiral catalysts for highly enantioselective asymmetric synthesis.