Novel thiolated amino-alcohols as chiral ligands for copper-catalyzed asymmetric nitro-aldol reactions

Thiolated amino-alcohols have been synthesized and evaluated as a potential new class of chiral ligands for copper-catalyzed nitro-aldol reactions. The model nitro-aldol reaction took place smoothly at ambient temperature in the presence of catalytic amounts (5–15 mol %) of the ligands and copper(II) acetate to afford the nitro-aldol product in good to excellent yield without accompanying dehydration. Amino-alcohol ligands bearing N-(2-alkylthio)benzyl substituents provided only modest enantioselectivities (22–46% ee) while those carrying N-2-thienylmethyl substituents provided better enantioselectivities (up to 75% ee). A range of aromatic aldehydes were acceptable for the nitro-aldol reaction with nitromethane, giving moderate to good enantioselectivities (69–88% ee).