Chiral Catalysis at the Water/Oil Interface

The unique physicochemical properties of water as a solvent have attracted great interest from synthetic chemists for many years, and tremendous research progress on chemical reactions under aqueous conditions has been reported. Among them, catalytic asymmetric reactions have also been demonstrated and water turns out to not only be a unique solvent but also participate in the reactions. In this Perspective, we summarize and discuss recent advances in chiral catalysis at the water/oil interface. Emphasis is placed on the concepts/approaches used in chiral organocatalysis and metal catalysis.