Small organic molecules capable of catalyzing reactions through hydrogen bonding interactions are emerging as powerful tools in organic synthesis.  Conventionally, hydrogen bond donor (HBD) catalysts have been inspired by the anion recognition abilities offered by urea, thiourea, and guanidinium functionalities.  The exploration of innovative HBD scaffolds is an attractive direction in organocatalysis research to overcome barriers associated with current HBD catalysts, such as high catalyst loadings and limited reactivity patterns.  Specifically, silanediols have been identified as promising HBD catalysts for the activation of nitroalkenes towards nucleophilic attack.  The design behind our silanediol catalyst system, including an investigation of asymmetric catalysis with silanediols, will be presented.

Silanediols as catalysts for nitroalkene activation

246th National Meeting (2013)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.