Substituted proline derivatives as organocatalysts in the Michael reaction

Abstract

Chiral, polysubstituted proline esters, obtained via cycloaddition reactions of azomethine ylides, were studied as organocatalysts in the Michael reaction of aldehydes/ketones and vinylsulphones. Under optimised reaction conditions employing 10 mol % of the catalyst in wet CH2Cl2, the yields of the products were generally good while the enantioselectivity varied, reaching up to 52 %.