N, O-ligand accelerated zinc-catalyzed transesterification of alcohols with vinyl esters

N-Phenyldiethanolamine (1f) is an efficient ligand for zinc-catalyzed transesterification of alcohols with vinyl acetate (R3 = Me) at room temperature. In the case of using other vinyl esters (R3 = Et, n-Pr, Ph), the corresponding products were easily obtained in the presence of pyridine-type ligand 2 instead of aminoalcohol 1f.