title: Vanadium-catalyzed asymmetric cyanohydrin synthesis
abstract: Based on a mechanistic understanding of asymmetric cyanohydrin synthesis catalyzed by chiral titanium-salen complexes, a new catalyst based on vanadium(IV) has been developed. The chiral (salen)VO catalyst is more enantioselective than the titanium-based systems, 0.1 mol % of the catalyst being sufficient to convert aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes into the corresponding trimethylsilyl ethers of cyanohydrins with 68-95% enantiomeric excess at room temperature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, King's College, Strand, London, WC2R 2LS, U. K. and A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117813 Vavilov 28, Moscow, Russia.
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Belokon'
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: North
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Parsons