Catalytic enantioselective addition of organoaluminum reagents to aldehydes

An efficient catalyst for the asymmetric addition of organoaluminum reagents to aldehydes is presented. The system is based on a readily available binaphthyl derivative as a chiral ligand and an excess of titanium tetraisopropoxide. The asymmetric methylation, ethylation, and propylation of a wide variety of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes proceeded with good yields and with high enantioselectivities in a simple one-pot procedure under mild conditions.