Heterogeneous Heterobimetallic Catalysis Enabling Expeditious Access to CF3-Containing vic-Amino Alcohols.

A highly anti-selective catalytic asymmetric nitroaldol reaction of trifluoromethyl ketones based on Nd/Na and Pr/Na heterobimetallic catalysts was developed. These catalysts function as heterogeneous catalysts to engage nitroethane and a range of trifluoromethyl ketones in a stereoselective assembly to afford CF3-appended vic-nitroalkanols that could be readily converted to enantioenriched vic-amino alcohols, which are privileged structural motifs in medicinal chemistry.