Abstract
Despite significant advances in catalytic asymmetric reactions with decent stereocontrol, those using acetonitrile as a pronucleophile are often disregarded due to their low reactivity and insufficient enantioselectivity. Herein we report the resurgence of this reaction in the chemical toolbox with high enantioselectivity (avg. > 95% ee). The combined use of a Ni(II) complex ligated with a chiral biscarbene and tBuOK engages acetonitrile in the catalytic generation of an α-cyanocarbanion and subsequent highly enantioselective addition to aldimines.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 8187-8190 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Organic Letters |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 20 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2019 Oct 18 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry