The synthesis of new oxazoline-containing bifunctional catalysts and their application in the addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes.

The straightforward preparation of new modular oxazoline-containing bifunctional catalysts is reported employing a microwave-assisted Buchwald-Hartwig aryl amination as the key step. Covalent attachment of 2-(o-aminophenyl)oxazolines and pyridine derivatives generated in good-to-high yields a series of ligands in two or three steps in which each part was altered independently to tune the activity and the selectivity of the corresponding catalysts. These catalysts prepared in situ were subsequently applied in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to various aldehydes, producing the corresponding alcohols with enantioselectivities of up to 68%. A transition state model, based on relevant X-ray crystal structures, has also been proposed to explain the observed stereoselectivities.