Abstract

Catalytic asymmetric addition reactions with organometallic reagents are important to synthetic chemistry and procedures that use non-stabilized carbanions have been developed extensively over the last 20 years. Here I will discuss our recent work on developing enantioselective carbon-carbon bond forming reactions using alkylmetal species generated in situ from alkenes. Alkenes are readily available, serve as important sources for many classes of organic compounds and have favorable properties when compared to pre-made organometallic reagents. High levels of enantioselectivity are generally observed at room temperature in a range of solvents, and these reactions tolerate functional groups that are not compatible with comparable methods.
I will also likely discuss our recent work on dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformations where racemic starting materials are used in C-C bond forming reactions with non-stabilized nucleophiles and autocatalytic reactions that may be relevant to the origins of life on earth.