Thiourea-Catalyzed Enantioselective Cyanosilylation of Ketones

Abstract

The new chiral amino thiourea catalyst 3d promotes the highly enantioselective cyanosilylation of a wide variety of ketones. The hindered tertiary amine substituent plays a crucial role with regard to both stereoinduction and reactivity, suggesting a cooperative mechanism involving electrophile activation by thiourea and nucleophile activation by the amine.