The rate determining steps of organocatalytic conjugate addition reactions between aldehydes and nitroolefins depend on the presence or absence of a suitably positioned carboxylic acid moiety within the catalyst.

Looking back: The asymmetric organocatalytic 1,4‐addition of aldehydes to nitroolefins was studied by ESI‐MS. Analysis of the back reaction starting from quasienantiomeric mass‐labeled 1,4‐adducts (see scheme) provided conclusive evidence for an enamine rather than an enol mechanism, and allowed identification of the enantioselectivity‐determining step.

Peptides have become valuable as catalysts for a variety of different reactions, but little is known about the conformational properties of peptidic catalysts. We investigated the conformation of the peptide H-dPro-Pro-Glu-NH, a highly reactive and stereoselective catalyst for conjugate addition reactions, and the corresponding enamine intermediate in solution by NMR spectroscopy and computational methods. The combination of nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs), residual dipolar couplings (RDCs), J-couplings, and temperature coefficients revealed that the tripeptide adopts a single predominant conformation in its ground state. The structure is a type I β-turn, which gains stabilization from three hydrogen bonds that are cooperatively formed between all functional groups (secondary amine, carboxylic acid, amides) within the tripeptide. In contrast, the conformation of the enamine intermediate is significantly more flexible. The conformational ensemble of the enamine is still dominated by the β-turn, but the backbone and the side chain of the glutamic acid residue are more dynamic. The key to the switch between rigidity and flexibility of the peptidic catalyst is the COH group in the side chain of the glutamic acid residue, which acts as a lid that can open and close. As a result, the peptidic catalyst is able to adapt to the structural requirements of the intermediates and transition states of the catalytic cycle. These insights might explain the robustness and high reactivity of the peptidic catalyst, which exceeds that of other secondary amine-based organocatalysts. The data suggest that a balance between rigidity and flexibility, which is reminiscent of the dynamic nature of enzymes, is beneficial for peptidic catalysts and other synthetic catalysts.

The stoichiometric reactions of enamines prepared from aldehydes and diphenyl-prolinol silyl ethers (intermediates of numerous organocatalytic processes) with nitro olefins have been investigated. As reported in the last century for simple achiral and chiral enamines, the products are cyclobutanes (4 with monosubstituted nitro-ethenes), dihydro-oxazine N-oxide derivatives (5 with disubstituted nitroethenes), and nitro enamines derived from g-nitro aldehydes (6, often formed after longer reaction times). The same types of products were shown to be formed, when the reactions were carried out with peptides H-Pro-Pro-Xaa-OMe that lack an acidic H-atom. Functionalized components such as alkoxy enamines, nitro-acrylates, acetamido-nitro-ethylene, or hydroxylated nitro olefins also form products carrying the diphenyl-prolinol silyl ether as a substituent. All of these products must be considered intermediates in the corresponding catalytic reactions; the investigation of their chemical properties provided useful hints about the rates, the conditions, the catalyst resting states or irreversible traps, and/ or the limitations of the corresponding organocatalytic processes. High-level DFT and MP2 computations of the structures of alkoxy enamines and thermodynamic data of a cyclobutane dissociation are also described. Some results obtained with the stoichiometrically prepared intermediates are not compatible with previous mechanistic proposals and assumptions.