Hydroxy Group-Assisted Cu-Catalyzed Asymmetric Conjugate Addition for the Creation of an All-Carbon Quaternary Center

Multinuclear Cu-catalyzed conjugate addition of Me3Al to α’-hydroxy enones was achieved in high to excellent enantioselectivity. In control experiments, we revealed that conjugate addition of Me3Al to β,β-disubstituted α’-hydroxy enones was an important contributor, even without ligands, which implies that the hydroxy moiety helps to facilitate the reaction. The corresponding products can be converted to various carbonyl compounds through oxidative cleavage of the C–C bond.