Asymmetric Michael reactions and enantioselective protonations between enones and thiols were catalyzed by a Sc(OTf)3–chiral 2,2′-bipyridine complex in water. The remarkable governing of the enantioselectivity for simple introduction of protons despite their abnormally high mobility in water may provide us with new synthetic opportunities as well as significant chemical advances.
hydroacylation of α-substituted α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compoundsthrough direct hydrogen atom transfer in the presence of the photocatalyst anthraquinone and chiral N,N′-dioxide/metal complexes. This mild, robust method provided a facile access to a wide array of chiral ketones with α-tertiary stereocenters by using the readily available aldehyde as a hydroacylation reagent. Based on the spectroscopy experiments