Chiral P,N-ligands for the highly enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aromatic aldehydes

A new sterically hindered chiral P,N-ligand was synthesized and successfully applied to copper catalyzed asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aromatic aldehydes. Various aromatic aldehydes can react smoothly to give the corresponding addition products with good to excellent enantioselectivities, which provides a readily accessible method for the preparation of chiral secondary alcohols