First structurally defined catalyst for the asymmetric addition of trimethylsilyl cyanide to benzaldehyde

Titanium complex TiCl2L [H2L = (R,R)-N,N′-bis(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)hexane-1,2-diamine] 2 has been prepared, characterised by X-ray crystallography and shown to be an active catalyst for the asymmetric addition of Me3SiCN to benzaldehyde, producing (S)-2-phenyl-2-trimethylsilyloxyacetonitrile in 86% ee at room temperature.