title: Novel binuclear chiral zirconium catalysts used in enantioselective strecker reactions.
abstract: A novel binuclear chiral zirconium catalyst was successfully used in enantioselective Strecker reactions. The catalyst was readily prepared from zirconium t-butoxide (Zr(OtBu)4), (R)-6,6'-dibromo-1, 1'-bi-2-naphthol ((R)-6-Br-BINOL), and (R)-3,3'-dibromo-1, 1'-bi-2-naphthol ((R)-3-Br-BINOL) to form unique binuclear structure. It was revealed that a combination of (R)-6-Br-BINOL and (R)-3-Br-BINOL was essential in these asymmetric reactions and that much lower selectivities were obtained by using other combinations. Two-component (an imine and hydrogen cyanide (HCN)) and three-component (an aldehyde, an amine, and HCN) Strecker reactions proceeded smoothly in the presence of a catalytic amount of the chiral zirconium catalyst to afford the corresponding alpha-amino nitrile derivatives in high yields with high enantioselectivities.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, CREST, Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST), Tokyo, Japan. skobayas@mol.f.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishitani