Enantioselective Henry reaction catalyzed by a copper(II) glucoBOX complex

A highly enantioselective Henry reaction has been developed using a chiral copper(II)-glucoBOX complex. The catalytic system works well with a wide range of aromatic, aliphatic and heteroaromatic aldehydes to afford the corresponding nitroalkanols with high enantioselectivity (up to 99%) in excellent yields (up to 95%). The catalyst shows good enantioselectivity with 10 mol % of loading at easily attainable temperature (10 degrees C) even in the absence of an inert atmosphere. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.