Coordination chemistry of oxazoline ligands

4,5-Dihydro-1,3-oxazole ligands (commonly known as 2-oxazolines or simply oxazolines) have been used by many research groups as chiral auxiliaries in transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric organic syntheses. The oxazolines show a number,of attractive characteristics: versatility of ligand design, straightforward synthesis of ligands from readily available precursors, and modulation of the chiral centers, which are located near the donor atoms. This review focuses on the transition metal coordination chemistry of oxazolines. It surveys data describing structural characterization in both solid state (X-ray diffraction) and solution (NMR spectroscopy). (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.