Highly enantioselective copper-catalyzed conjugate addition of diethylzinc to cyclic enones with spirocyclic phosphoramidite ligands

A series of spirocyclic phosphoramidite ligands 6–9 with different substituents on the amine moiety were synthesized from the chiral spirocyclic diol (R)-5. These monodentate ligands have been applied in copper-catalyzed conjugate addition of diethylzinc to cyclic enones. Excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) can be achieved by the use of ligand (R,S,S)-9 bearing stereochemically matched structure derived from the C2-symmetric (S,S)-bis(α-methylbenzyl)amine.