An enantioselective nucleophilic addition of α,β-unsaturated trifluoromethylketones catalyzed by l-proline derivatives

A novel l-proline derivative was used in a unique aldol reaction involving acetone and α,β-unsaturated trifluoromethylketones to provide S-products in high yield and excellent enantioselectivity. In this paper, investigation into the unique reaction was carefully described. At the end of it, several hypotheses were postulated to give appropriate explanations to the results obtained in the unique reaction with the help of an X-ray crystallographic analysis.