Teaming up: The title reaction has been developed to deliver the product α‐alkylidene‐γ‐butyrolactones as single diastereomers with up to 98 % ee (see scheme; Ts=4‐toluenesulfonyl). The enantioselective process is catalyzed by 1, which contains both Lewis base and Brønsted acid moieties.
The acid–base organocatalyzed intramolecularRauhut–Currier (RC) reaction of the dienone enolates has been developed. The enantioselective RC process produces the highly functionalized α-methylidene-γ-butyrolactones as a single diastereomer with up to 98% ee.