Molecules (Aug 2015)
Unconventional Bifunctional Lewis-Brønsted Acid Activation Mode in Bicyclic Guanidine-Catalyzed Conjugate Addition Reactions
Abstract
DFT calculations have demonstrated that the unconventional bifunctional Brønsted-Lewis acid activation mode is generally applicable to a range of nucleophilic conjugate additions catalyzed by bicyclic guanidine catalysts. It competes readily with the conventional bifunctional Brønsted acid mode of activation. The optimal pro-nucleophiles for this unconventional bifunctional activation are acidic substrates with low pKa, while the best electrophiles are flexible 1,4-diamide and 1,4-diester conjugated systems.
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