It was found that chitosan supported L-proline can be used as a heterogeneous organocatalyst to catalyze the asymmetric Henry reaction with different substrates in various media. The catalyst showed better performance in water and aqueous micelles. Unexpectedly, it was found that the chitosan itself can also catalyze Henry reaction. The catalytic performance of chitosan was well studied under various conditions. Similar to the chitosan supported L-proline, chitosan showed better performance in water and aqueous micelles than in the organic solvents, especially, a yield of 99% with a dr ratio of 1∶2.2 was obtained in Span-40 aqueous micelle.

Key words: chitosan, L-proline, asymmetric Henry reaction, water, aqueous micelle