Abstract
Ferrocene- and ruthenocenecarboxaldehydes have been employed in Betti-type condensation reactions with 2-naphthol and (S)-phenylethylamine to give metallocenyl-substituted aminomethylnaphthols in a diastereoisomerically pure form. The absolute configurations of the new chiral compounds have been determined by means of NMR experiments and confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The chiral metallocenyl-aminomethylnaphthols have been tested as pre-catalysts for the addition of diethyl zinc to aldehydes, with enantioselectivities of up to 88% ee.