Titanium (IV) as an essential promoter in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes catalyzed by aminonaphthol and imine ligands based on 3-substituted binaphthol

By using indirect reductive amination and condensation, two types of aminonaphthol and imine ligands based on 3-substituted binaphthol have been synthesized, respectively. When their catalytic effectiveness was tested by the ethylation of aldehydes with diethylzinc, titanium tetraisopropoxide was found essential to get good results with ee up to 90%.