Enantio- and regioselective asymmetric allylic substitution using a chiral aminophosphinite ruthenium complex: an experimental and theoretical investigation.

The design and synthesis of a new chiral aminophosphinite-ligated ruthenium complex is described. The ruthenium complex, [Ru(AMP) 2 (CH 3 CN) 2 ][BPh 4 ] 2 {AMP = ( S )- tert -butyl 1-(diphenylphosphinooxy)-3-methylbutan-2-ylcarbamate}, has been found to catalyze nucleophilic addition of phenol and carboxylic acid to allyl chloride in a highly regioselective fashion with enantiomeric excess ranging from 12 to 90.