Enantioselective S_N2 Alkylation of Homoenolates by N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Catalysis (Adv. Sci. 29/2023)

Abstract

Enantioselective β‐Alkylation

In article number 2303517, Yong Huang, Jiean Chen, and co‐workers, describe a novel S_N2 reaction mode for NHC‐mediated homoenolate chemistry, enabling enantioselective β‐alkylation, allylation and propargylation of enals. By combining with a “transient acyl trap” strategy, a diverse collection of chiral oxindole derivatives could be accessed, offering an efficient synthetic entry to the pyrroloindoline motif frequently encountered in natural products.