Recent Advances in Lewis Base-Catalysed Chemo-, Diastereo- and Enantiodivergent Reactions of Electron-Deficient Olefins and Alkynes

Abstract

Lewis base catalysis provides powerful synthetic strategies for the selective construction of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. Thus continuous efforts have been deployed to develop effective methodologies involving Lewis base catalysis. The nucleophilicity and steric hindrance of Lewis base catalyst often plays a major role in catalytic reactivity and selectivity in the reaction. In the past decades, tremendous progress has been made in the divergent construction of valuable motifs under Lewis base catalysis. In this review, we provide a comprehensive and updated summary of Lewis base-catalysed chemo-, diastereo- and enantiodivergent reaction, as well as the related mechanism will be highlighted in detail.

Keywords: Divergent reaction; Lewis base; Phosphine; Review; Tertiary amine.