Abstract:

 

Organic molecule-mediated selective catalysis (i.e. selective organocatalysis) has evolved into a generally applicable, powerful strategy for asymmetric synthesis over the last several years.  The advent of selective organocatalysis is marked by the discovery and development of a variety of fundamentally important modes of catalysis by chiral small molecules, which represented by hydrogen-bond donor catalysis by chiral thioureas, general base catalysis by cinchona alkaloids, iminium as well as enamine catalysis by prolines and synthetic chiral amines, chiral phase transfer catalysis, chiral nucleophilic catalysis and chiral NHC catalysis.  This lecture will present synthetic and mechanistic studies focusing on the discovery and development of selective catalysis directed towards the activation of nucleophiles for a broad range of organic transformations.