The design and synthesis of a new chiral aminophosphinite-ligated ruthenium complex is described. The ruthenium complex, [Ru(AMP)2(CH3CN)2][BPh4]2 {AMP = (S)-tert-butyl 1-(diphenylphosphinooxy)-3-methylbutan-2-ylcarbamate}, has been found to catalyze nucleophilic addition of phenol and carboxylic acid to allyl chloride in a highly regioselective fashion with enantiomeric excess ranging from 12 to 90.
