The combination of Lewis acid organocatalysis and internal hydrogen-bond assistance was used to develop a new type of highly active disulfonimide catalyst. The increased Lewis acidity was documented by activity comparisons as well as theoretical investigations. Finally, the potential of the hydrogen-bond-assisted disulfonimide catalyst was demonstrated by its application in an enantioselective transformation.
Keywords: Lewis acids; catalyst design; disulfonimides; organocatalysis; silylium ions.
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