Nature Communications (Apr 2019)
Copper(I)-catalyzed asymmetric decarboxylative Mannich reaction enabled by acidic activation of 2H-azirines
Abstract
Due to their poor electrophilicity, 2H-azirines do not easily react with nucleophiles. Here, the authors show an acidic activation of 2H-azirines by cyanoacetic acid coupling partners affording chiral aziridines containing vicinal tetrasubstituted and acyclic quaternary stereogenic carbon centers.