Abstract: In the presence of titanium(Ⅳ) ethoxide, the chiral menthyl Phenylglyoxylate was prepared using transesterification with ethyl phenylglyoxylate and the natural abundant chiral menthol. In the auxiliaries of asymmetric factor, the menthyl 2s-2-hydroxy-2- phenyl-3-nitropropionate was synthesized by the Henry reaction with the chiral α-ketoester and nitromethane. Their structures were confirmed by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR spectroscopy. The enantioselectivity was analyzed by HPLC.

Key words: α-ketoester, transesterification, asymmetric Henry reaction, synthesis