The Cu-catalyzed enantioselective 1,4-conjugate addition has been achieved with S-(+)-2-(2-pyridinyl-carboxamido)-2'- (diphenylphosphino)-1,1'-binaphthyl(1a) and S-(+)-2-(6-methyl-2- pyridinylcarboxamido)-2'-(diphenyl-phosphino)-1,1'-binaphthyl(1b) ligands. The reaction conditions such as the solvents and catalyst precursors were investigated using 1a as the ligand and chalcone (2a) as the typical substrate. Under the optimized conditions, the Cu(Ⅰ)- 1b complex catalyzed enan tioselective 1,4-conjugate additions of diethylzinc to acyclic enones (2) were systematically studied. The unprecedented high enantioselectivity (up to 98%) has been achieved.

Key words: COPPER COMPLEX, CATALYTIC REACTION, ADDITION REACTION, BINAPHTHYL P, KETENE, ZINC COMPOUNDS