A catalyticenantioselectivesynthesis of dihydrofurans has been developed. 1,3-Dicarbonyl derivatives react with (E)-β,β-bromonitrostyrenes in the presence of a chiral bifunctional thiourea catalyst providing mild and efficient access to diverse polysubstituted dihydrofurans in good yields and enantioselectivities.
The asymmetric domino Michael-SN2 reaction of various 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to α-bromonitroalkenes is described for the first time, employing readily available cinchona-derived bifunctionalthioureas as organocatalysts. The novel transformations were highly regio-, chemo-, diastereo-, and enantioselective, which simultaneously gave the chiral tricyclic 2,3-dihydrofurans, bicyclic 2,3-dihydrofurans
organocatalyst to catalyze the asymmetric domino Michael–alkylation reaction between cyclohexane‐1,3‐dione derivatives and bromonitrostyrenes. For dimedone, the corresponding bicyclic 2,3‐dihydrofurans with two stereocenters were obtained in up to 99 % yield with 95:5 d.r. and 96 % ee. For prochiral 5‐monosubstituted cyclohexane‐1,3‐diones, the desymmetrization reaction provided the bicyclic 2,3‐dihydrofurans