Efficient Cu-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate additions of alkylzinc reagents to aromatic and aliphatic acyclic nitroalkenes.

An efficient and highly enantioselective (up to 95% ee) Cu-catalyzed method for asymmetric conjugate addition (ACA) of alkylzinc reagents to acyclic disubstituted nitroalkenes is presented. Reactions are typically effected at ambient temperature in the presence of 2 mol % chiral dipeptide phosphine and 1 mol % (CuOTf)(2).C(6)H(6). Nitroalkenes bearing aromatic as well as aliphatic substituents readily undergo asymmetric additions. [reaction: see text]