Non-covalent immobilization of asymmetric organocatalysts

Abstract

The immobilization of organocatalysts is one of the most explored approaches to overcome the limitations associated with organocatalytic systems such as high catalyst loading, difficult product separation and catalyst recycling. When compared with the commonly used covalent immobilization methods, which usually involve tedious synthetic manipulations, the non-covalent attachment of organocatalysts to supports offers facile and modular construction of immobilized chiral catalysts with maintained or even improved activity and stereoselectivity. This review summarizes the successful application of non-covalent interactions, such as acid–base interaction, ion–pair interaction, hydrophobic interaction and so on, in assembling recoverable and reusable organocatalysts.