diaminomethylenemalononitrile organocatalyst efficiently catalyzed the asymmetric conjugateaddition of α-cyanoketones to vinyl ketones to give the corresponding 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds, which bear an all-carbonquaternarystereogeniccenter with high enantioselectivities. This report is the first example of the asymmetric conjugateaddition of α-cyanoketones to vinyl ketones using an organocatalyst.
The catalyticasymmetric conjugate addition of α-cyanoketone pronucleophiles to vinyl ketones promoted by a Y/1 catalyst is described. High enantioselectivity was observed for a range of aromatic vinyl ketones, providing 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds bearing an all-carbon quaternarystereogeniccenter. The product was successfully converted to a spiro-piperidine entity and a bicyclo[3.3.0]octane framework