New 1-amino-1,2-diphenylethanols as ligands for the enantioselective addition of alkyllithiums to benzaldehyde

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0957-4166(98)00473-X

In the presence of equimolar amounts of lithium alkoxides derived from N-substituted 2-amino-1,2-diphenylethanols, alkyllithium reagents add to benzaldehyde to furnish optically active secondary alcohols with enantiomeric excesses of up to 86%. The best results were obtained using the N-isopropyl- N-methyl substituted amino-alcohol.