Highly Enantioselective Direct Asymmetric Aldol Reaction Catalyzed by 4,5‐Methano‐L‐proline

Abstract The 4,5‐methano‐L‐proline was used as chiral organocatalysts in direct asymmetric aldol reactions. Under the optimal conditions, excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) were obtained with high chemical yields (up to 95%) for a series of aldehydes using only 5 mol% catalyst loading. To show the practicality of the method, the reaction was tested at a large scale. The reaction was complete in 16 h, and the aldol product was obtained in 86% yield and 93% ee.