Novel chiral bisoxazoline ligands based on norbornadiene were synthesized and used for the asymmetric Henry reaction. Various aromatic aldehydes were converted into chiral β -nitro alcohols with high yields and moderate to acceptable enantioselectivities under the optimized reaction conditions. The short and efficient synthesis of bisoxazoline ligands, the flexibility in ligand design, coordination to a large number of transition metals, and excellent enantioselectivity in many reactions make these ligands indispensable in asymmetric catalysis. |
