Enantioselective Photochemical Organocascade Catalysis

Abstract

Reported herein is a photochemical cascade process that combines the excited-state and ground-state reactivity of chiral organocatalytic intermediates. This strategy directly converts racemic cyclopropanols and α,β-unsaturated aldehydes into stereochemically dense cyclopentanols with exquisite stereoselectivity. Mechanistic investigations have enabled elucidating the origin of the stereoconvergence, which is governed by a kinetic resolution process.

Keywords: cascade reactions; kinetic resolution; organocatalysis; photochemistry; radicals.