Design of chiral sulfoxide-Schiff base hybrids and their application in Cu-catalyzed asymmetric Henry reactions

A new class of chiral sulfoxide-Schiff base ligands has been developed by the rational combination of two privileged chiral backbones. These sulfoxide-Schiff base ligands were found to be highly efficient for Cu-catalyzed asymmetric Henry reactions (up to 98% yield and 96% ee).