Making Chiral Salen Complexes Work with Organocatalysts

Bisimine derivatives of salicylaldehyde with chiral diamines (salens) are privileged ligands in asymmetric organometallic catalysis, which can be used in cooperation with organocatalysts as additives. The latter can be a modifier of the metal reactivity by liganding or a true co-catalyst working in tandem or in a dual system. All scenarios encountered in the literature are reviewed and classified according to the organocatalyst. In each case, mechanistic and physical-organic chemistry considerations are discussed to better understand the gears of these complex catalytic settings.