Development and Application of the Conceptionally New Catalytic Asymmetric Aldol Reaction

发展催化不对称羟醛缩合反应是当今的一个挑战。已经报道了手性刘易斯酸催化剂。然而，这种方法在通用性和适用性方面仍然存在许多问题。因此，我们研究了使用手性钯催化剂的新方法。我们发现，即使在少量水存在下，通过钯烯醇化物，羟醛缩合反应也能以高产率和ee进行。并对催化剂的结构和反应机理进行了研究和确定。

Developing a catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction is a formidal challenge nowadays. Chiral Lewis acid catalysts have been reported. However, this approach still has many problems in versatility and applicability. Thus, we investigated novel approach by using the chiral palladium catalyst. We have found that the aldol reaction proceeds in high yield and ee via the palladium enolate even in the presence of small amount of water. Furthermore, we have investigated and determined the catalyst structure and the reaction mechanism.