Diarylprolinol was found to be an effective organocatalyst of the direct, enantioselective aldol reaction of commercially available polymeric ethyl glyoxylate, affording gamma-ethoxycarbonyl-beta-hydroxy aldehydes, versatile synthetic intermediates, in good yield with excellent enantioselectivity.

The asymmetric cross-aldol reaction of formaldehyde with aldehyde pronucleophiles, catalyzed by trifluoromethyl-substituted diarylprolinol 1, was accomplished to directly afford α-hydroxymethyl-substituted aldehydes in good yield with excellent enantioselectivity.

No abstract

The direct cross‐aldol reaction of alkynyl aldehydes catalyzed by a trifluoromethylated diarylprolinol provides a practical route for the highly enantioselective synthesis of chiral β‐alkynyl‐β‐hydroxy aldehydes. Good anti selectivity and excellent enantioselectivity were obtained in the reactions of silylpropynals, which afford synthetically useful chiral building blocks.

The direct aldol reaction of an α-alkyl-α-oxo aldehyde was catalyzed by trifluoromethyl-substituted diarylprolinol 1 to afford a γ-oxo-β-hydroxy-α-substituted aldehyde in good yield with excellent anti-selectivity and excellent enantioselectivity.