Facile, mild, and highly enantioselective alkynylzinc addition to aromatic aldehydes by BINOL/N-methylimidazole dual catalysis

The dual Lewis acid/base catalytic system, generated from N-methylimidazole (NMI), (R)-1,1'-bi-2-naphthol [(R)-BINOL], and Ti(OiPr)(4), effectively catalyzes the enantioselective alkynylation of aldehydes in the presence of Et2Zn in good yields and excellent enantioselectivities of up to 94% ee at room temperature. The mild reaction conditions make it possible to use functional alkynes in this asymmetric addition.