Chemistry Letters, Vol.39, No.4, 412-414, 2010
Efficient and Highly Enantioselective Michael Addition of Aldehydes to Nitroalkenes Catalyzed by a Surfactant-type Organocatalyst in the Presence of Water
It was found that in the presence of 20 mol% HCOOH, (S)-prolinol silyl ether organocatalyst bearing a long chain only in 2 mol% loading could catalyze the asymmetric Michael reaction of various aldehydes with trans-nitroalkenes at room temperature in the presence of water, giving the desired adducts in excellent yields with high diastereoselectivities and excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee).