A chiral amino-naphthalene-derived prolinamide catalyst for the enantioselective Michael addition of ketones to nitroolefins

Abstract

An enantioselective Michael addition of ketones to nitroolefins has been accomplished using a novel chiral aminonaphthalenederived prolinamides catalyst 1. The desired Michael adducts were obtained in high yields (up to 93%) as well as good diastereoselectivities (>99:1) and enantioselectivities (48%-99% ee).