Asymmetric addition of organozinc compounds to carbonyl groups is one of the most useful methods for the synthesis of alcohols with high enantioselectivity. There is a wide range of chiral catalysts, although their synthesis requires more than one step and not often readily available starting materials. In this work, chiral β-hydroxy oxazolines derived from (+)-camphor and (-)-fenchone were easily synthesized through a one-step method, with good yields. Both ligands were evaluated as catalysts for the stereoselective addition of diethylzinc to aromatic aldehydes. All ligands showed good catalytic activity, leading both to the preparation of the R enantiomer of chiral secondary alcohols. As ligand 2 provided slightly better enantioselectivities, it was used as chiral inductor for the addition of diethylzinc for a larger number of aldehydes, resulting in good to excellent yields (88-98%) and enantiomeric excess up to 96%.

β-Hidroxi-2-oxazolinas quirais foram sintetizadas e avaliadas como catalisadores na adição de dietilzinco a aldeídos. Todas as oxazolinas se mostraram eficientes na obtenção dos produtos de adição. Os melhores excessos enantioméricos (69 a 78%) foram obtidos quando se empregou a β-hidroxi oxazolina quiral derivada da (−)-mentona e do amino álcool 2-amino-2-metilpropan-1-ol.

Chiral β-hydroxy-2-oxazolines were synthesized and evaluated as catalysts for the addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. All oxazolines proved effective in obtaining the addition products. The best enantiomeric excesses (69-78%) were obtained using the chiral β-hydroxy oxazoline derived from (−)-menthone and the amino alcohol 2-amino-2-methylpropan-1-ol.