Stereoselective Aldol Reactions with α‐Unsubstituted Chiral Enolates

Abstract

The aldol reaction is among the most important methods of forming carbon‐carbon bonds. The addition of an enolate to an aldehyde leads to the formation of at least one chiral center. In the case of α‐substituted enolates it has to a large extent been possible to control the product stereochemistry, while the aldol reaction of α‐unsubstituted chiral enolates was for many years a “problem child” for synthetic chemists because of its insufficient stereoselectivity. Progress in this area has only been made in the last few years using either new chiral auxiliaries or alternatives to the aldol reaction.