New bifunctional chiral thiourea-amide organocatalysts were developed. Their applications in asymmetric conjugate addition of 2,4-pentandione to various nitroalkenes were investigated. The corresponding adducts were obtained in excellent yields with high enantioselectivities up to 94% ee in present of 1 mol% catalyst. The catalytic system could also suit for various nitroalkenes bearing electron-donating or electron-withdrawing groups. The preliminary structure-activity relationship study reveals that the acyl group in pyrrolidine N position plays an important role in catalyzing the reaction.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.