Diamine‐Catalyzed Addition of ZnEt2 to PhC(O)CF3: Two Mechanisms and Autocatalytic Asymmetric Enhancement

NMR spectroscopic studies of the catalytic addition reaction of ZnEt₂ to PhC(O)CF₃ in the presence of three very efficient catalysts TMEDA, tBuBOX, and L ; where L is a chiral diamine synthesized from optically pure (R,R)‐1,2‐diphenylethylenediamine and (S)‐2,2′‐bis‐(bromomethyl)‐1,1′‐binaphthalene] reveal large differences in their behavior. For the ligands TMEDA and tBuBOX, the catalysis shows no unusual features and proceeds via (N?N)Zn(Et){OC(CF₃)(Et)Ph}]. For N?N? L , the observation of autocatalytic asymmetric enhancement during the catalysis, and unusual inverse concentration dependence on the reaction rate, indicate the participation of an additional novel catalytic cycle that goes through a dinuclear intermediate containing one ZnEt₂ and one ZnEt fragment connected by N?N and OR bridges. Interestingly, the ¹⁹F NMR signals of the main product of the reaction (Zn(Et){OC*(CF₃)(Et)Ph}]₂) allowed us to assess the enantioselectivity of the processes in situ without the assistance of chiral chromatography.