Enantioselective organocatalytic conjugate addition of aldehydes to nitrodienes

Org Lett. 2008 Oct 16;10(20):4557-60. doi: 10.1021/ol801772p. Epub 2008 Sep 11.

Abstract

The asymmetric organocatalyzed Michael addition of aldehydes to alpha,beta-gamma,delta-unsaturated nitro compounds has been accomplished using only 5 mol % of (S)-diphenylprolinol silyl ether and 2 equiv of aldehyde in a mixture of ethanol and water (5% v/v). The Michael adducts were obtained in good yields, diastereoselectivities up to 94/6, and ee's up to 99%. This process provides synthetically useful compounds which can easily lead to more complex molecules, as exemplified with substituted tetrahydropyran or cyclohexene.