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Updated: Mar 26, 2026

Facile Preparation of 2Z,4E-Dienamides by the Olefination of Electron-deficient Alkenes with Allyl Acetate
Published on: June 21, 2017
Oxy-Allyl Cation Catalysis: An Enantioselective Electrophilic Activation Mode
Chun Liu1, E Zachary Oblak1, Mark N Vander Wal1
1Merck Center for Catalysis, Princeton University , Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
Abstract:
A generic activation mode for asymmetric LUMO-lowering catalysis has been developed using the long-established principles of oxy-allyl cation chemistry. Here, the enantioselective conversion of racemic α-tosyloxy ketones to optically enriched α-indolic carbonyls has been accomplished using a new amino alcohol catalyst in the presence of electron-rich indole nucleophiles. Kinetic studies reveal that the rate-determining step in this S(N)1 pathway is the catalyst-mediated α-tosyloxy ketone deprotonation step to form an enantiodiscriminant oxy-allyl cation prior to the stereodefining nucleophilic addition event.
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