Highly Diastereo‐ and Enantioselective Catalytic Domino Thia‐Michael/Aldol Reactions: Synthesis of Benzothiopyrans with Three Contiguous Stereocenters

Highly enantioselective organocatalytic domino thia‐Michael/aldol reactions between 2‐mercaptoacetophenone and α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes are presented. The reactions proceed with excellent chemo‐, diastereo‐ and enantioselectivity to give the corresponding benzothiopyran derivatives in high yields with up to >15:1 dr and 96 to >99 % ee.     

An Organocatalytic Domino Thia‐Michael/Aldol Condensation Reaction: Highly Enantioselective Synthesis of Functionalized Dihydrothiophenes

An organocatalytic domino thia‐Michael/aldol condensation reaction of α, β‐unsaturated aldehydes with 1, 4‐dithiane‐2,5‐diol catalyzed by chiral diphenylprolinol TMS ether has been developed, which provides a new practical and direct route to chiral dihydrothiophenes with high yields (up to 90%) and excellent enantioselectivities (up to>99% ee). The catalytic mechanism of the domino reaction was further confirmed through the APCI‐MS detection of proposed reaction intermediates.     

Organocatalytic Enantioselective Aziridination of α‐Substituted α,β‐Unsaturated Aldehydes: Asymmetric Synthesis of Terminal Aziridines

The first example of a highly enantioselective organocatalytic aziridination of α‐substituted α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes is presented. The reaction is catalyzed by simple chiral amines and gives access to highly functional terminal azirdines containing an α‐tertiary amine stereocenter in high yields and enantiomeric ratios (95.5:4.5–98:2).     

Organocatalytic Enantioselective Aza‐Michael Addition of Purine Bases to α,β‐Unsaturated Ketones

The first organocatalytic enantioselective aza‐Michael addition of purine bases to α,β‐unsaturated ketones has been developed, affording Michael adducts in moderate to high yields (up to 96% yield) and high to excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee). A wide range of α,β‐unsaturated ketones including aliphatic and aromatic enones are tolerated in this process, generally demonstrating good reactivity, regioselectivity and enantioselectivity. The aromatic α,β‐unsaturated ketones showing quite low reactivity in the reported catalytic systems, were first successfully employed as Michael acceptors in this transformation, yielding high enantioselectivities (up to 94% ee). The utility of this method was also applied for the synthesis of enantioenriched non‐natural nucleoside analogues with potential biological activities.     

A Simple Organocatalytic Enantioselective Cyclopropanation of α,β‐Unsaturated Aldehydes

A highly chemo‐ and enantioselective organocatalytic cyclopropanation of α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes with bromomalonate and 2‐bromoacetoacetate esters is presented. The reaction is catalyzed by chiral amines and gives access to 2‐formylcyclopropanes in high yields and up to 99 % ee.     

Assembly of 4‐Substituted 3‐Nitro‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydropyridines via Organocatalytic Michael Addition

An organocatalytic Michael addition of protected 2‐amino‐1‐nitroethanes to α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes followed by treatment with TFA afforded 4‐substituted 3‐nitro‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydropyridines with good diastereoselectivity and excellent enantioselectivity. Good yields were observed in the case of β‐aryl‐substituted α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes as the substrates, while moderate yields were obtained when β‐alkyl‐substituted α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes were used.     

A Novel Enantioselective Catalytic Tandem Oxa‐Michael–Henry Reaction: One‐Pot Organocatalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of 3‐Nitro‐2H‐chromenes

An enantioselective oxa‐Michael–Henry reaction of substituted salicylaldehydes with nitroolefins that proceeds though an aromatic iminium activation (AIA) has been developed by using a chiral secondary amine organocatalyst and salicylic acid as a co‐catalyst. The corresponding 3‐nitro‐2H‐chromenes were obtained in moderate‐to‐good yields with up to 91% ee under mild conditions. Based on the experimental results and ESI‐mass spectrometric detection of the intermediates, a plausible transition state has been proposed to explain the origin of the activation and the asymmetric induction.     

Asymmetric Synthesis of Polyfunctionalized Pyrrolidines via a Thiourea Catalyzed Domino Mannich/Aza‐Michael Reaction

The domino Mannich/aza‐Michael reaction of γ‐malonate‐substituted α,β‐unsaturated esters with N‐protected arylaldimines has been achieved. Catalyzed by bifunctional thioureas, 2,5‐cis‐configured polysubstituted pyrrolidines are obtained in good to excellent yields (76–99%), enantioselectivities (75–94%) and excellent diastereoselectivities (de >95%). The pure stereoisomers are available by crystallization and removal of the racemates.     

Asymmetric One‐Pot Synthesis of 1,4‐Dihydroquinolines via an Organocatalytic Aza‐Michael/Michael Cascade Strategy

A synthetic method for the construction of fully substituted enantioenriched 1,4‐dihydroquinolines using an organocatalytic aza‐Michael/Michael cascade reaction has been developed. The asymmetric reaction of 2‐(tosylamino)phenyl α,β‐unsaturated ketones with alkynyl aldehydes, promoted by diphenylprolinol O‐TMS ether as an organocatalyst, generated chiral 1,4‐dihydroquinolines in good to high yields with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 97 % ee).

     

Organocatalytic Enantioselective Michael Reaction of Malononitrile with β,β‐Disubstituted Nitroalkenes

We have developed and optimized an enantioselective Michael reaction of malononitrile with β,β‐disubstituted nitroalkenes. This reaction was catalyzed by a cinchona alkaloid derived thiourea catalyst, producing products of high yields (up to 98 %) and stereoselectivities (up to 93 % ee). One of the adducts was used as an intermediate for the synthesis of dihydropyrrole derivative bearing a synthetically valuable quaternary chiral center.

     

Asymmetric Aza‐Morita–Baylis–Hillman‐Type Reactions: The Highly Enantioselective Reaction between Unmodified α,β‐ Unsaturated Aldehydes and N‐Acylimines by Organo‐co‐catalysis

The highly enantioselective organo‐co‐catalytic aza‐Morita–Baylis–Hillman (MBH)‐type reaction between N‐carbamate‐protected imines and α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes has been developed. The organic co‐catalytic system of proline and 1,4‐diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) enables the asymmetric synthesis of the corresponding N‐Boc‐ and N‐Cbz‐protected β‐amino‐α‐alkylidene‐aldehydes in good to high yields and up to 99% ee. In the case of aza‐MBH‐type addition of enals to phenylprop‐2‐ene‐1‐imines, the co‐catalytic reaction exhibits excellent 1,2‐selectivity. The organo‐co‐catalytic aza‐MBH‐type reaction can also be performed by the direct highly enantioselective addition of α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes to bench‐stable N‐carbamate‐protected α‐amidosulfones to give the corresponding β‐amino‐α‐alkylidene‐aldehydes with up to 99% ee. The organo‐co‐catalytic aza‐MBH‐type reaction is also an expeditious entry to nearly enantiomerically pure β‐amino‐α‐alkylidene‐amino acids and β‐amino‐α‐alkylidene‐lactams (99% ee). The mechanism and stereochemistry of the chiral amine and DABCO co‐catalyzed aza‐MBH‐type reaction are also discussed.     

The Application of a Recyclable Organocatalytic System to the Asymmetric Domino Michael/Henry Reaction in Aqueous Media

A new type of pyrrolidine‐based organocatalyst has been developed and found to be very effective for the domino Michael/Henry reaction in aqueous solvents. For the reaction involving pentane‐1,5‐dial and various nitroolefins, good yields (65–85%) and excellent enantioselectivities (99%) were obtained using this catalyst. In addition, the catalyst could be recycled up to four times resulting in good yields and up to seven times with good enantioselectivity.     

The One‐Pot Wittig Reaction: A Facile Synthesis of α,β‐Unsaturated Esters and Nitriles by Using Nanocrystalline Magnesium Oxide

Nanocrystalline magnesium oxide was found to be an effective heterogeneous, solid base catalyst for the one‐pot Wittig reaction to afford α,β‐unsaturated esters and nitriles in excellent yields with high E‐stereoselectivity in the presence of triphenylphosphine under mild conditions.     

Asymmetric Organocatalytic Cascade Michael/Michael/Henry Reaction Sequence: Control of All Stereocenters in One Cyclohexane Skeleton

The highly diastereo‐ and enantioselective relay cascade Michael/Michael/Henry reaction catalyzed by combination of readily available diphenylprolinol silyl ether and the quinine thiourea in a one‐pot fashion has been developed. Up to 70% yield and up to >99% enantioselectivity of the single major isomer were obtained from the cascade reactions.     

Enantioselective Organocatalytic Conjugate Addition of Aldehydes to α,β‐Unsaturated Thiol Esters

The first example of an organocatalytic asymmetric Michael addition of aldehydes to α,β‐unsaturated thiol esters promoted by chiral diphenylprolinol silyl ether is presented. The reaction occurs with good yields, diastereoselectivity and excellent enantioselectivity.     

Organocatalytic Enantioselective Cascade Aza‐Michael/Michael Addition for the Synthesis of Highly Functionalized Tetrahydroquinolines and Tetrahydrochromanoquinolines

An efficient organocatalytic highly asymmetric cascade aza‐Michael/Michael addition reaction for the synthesis of tetrahydroquinolines and tetrahydrochromanoquinolines has been developed. This cascade reaction proceeds well at low catalyst loading with a broad substrate scope, furnishing the desired products in excellent yields with excellent diastereoselectivities and enantioselectivities (up to >99:1 dr, 99% ee) under mild conditions. Importantly, it is the first catalytic asymmetric method for tetrahydrochromanoquinolines. This protocol provides a straightforward entry to highly functionalized chiral tetrahydroquinoline and tetrahydrochromanoquinoline derivatives from simple starting materials.

     

One‐Pot Asymmetric Synthesis of Substituted Tetrahydrofurans via a Multicatalytic Benzoin/Michael/Acetalization Cascade

A sequential benzoin/Michael/acetalization tandem reaction catalyzed by NHC and amine together has been developed to assemble aromatic aldehydes and enals into chiral tetrahydrofuran derivatives bearing multiple functional groups and stereogenic centers with high stereoselectivity of up to 95:5 dr and 96% ee. The high yield and stereocontrol of this process may be due to both acid‐promoted symmetrization of racemic acyloins and iminium ion activation of enals.

     

Organocatalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Protected α,β‐Diamino Acids

In the presence of the readily available quinine‐derived catalyst 4d , highly diastereo‐ and enantioselective Mannich reactions of tosyl‐protected imines and α‐isothiocyanato imides proceeded to afford the protected α,β‐diamino acids, useful building blocks for natural products and biologically active compounds, in good to excellent yields.     

Cu(acac)2 Immobilized in Ionic Liquids: A Recoverable and Reusable Catalytic System for Aza‐Michael Reactions

Copper(II) acetylacetonate immobilized in ionic liquids efficiently catalyzes the aza‐Michael reaction of amines with α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl compounds to produce the corresponding β‐amino carbonyl compounds with great alacrity in excellent yields. The reactions are far more facile than those reported earlier. The recovered ionic liquid phase containing the copper catalyst can be reused for several cycles with consistent activity.