Catalytic enantioselective addition of methyltriisopropoxititanium to aldehydes

An efficient catalyst for the enantioselective synthesis of chiral methyl carbinols from aldehydes is presented. The system uses methyltriisopropoxytitanium as a nucleophile and a readily available binaphthyl derivative as a chiral ligand. The enantioselective methylation of both aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes proceeds with good yields and high enantioselectivities under mild conditions.