摘要
Production of chiral compounds by green processes like domino reactions is of importance to environmental protection and sustainable development. Nevertheless, finding an appropriate catalyst to control enantioselectivity with satisfaction is a major challenge. Here, we report the accomplishment of a newly developed domino reaction for synthesizing optically active 3-pyrrolines, a class of compounds with various biological properties. The reaction involves the use of (trimethylsilyl)aryl triflates, Schiff bases, and alkynes in the presence of a chiral catalyst (R)-(−)-1,1′-binaphthyl-2,2′-diyl hydrogenphosphate. The key features of this new reaction include the generation of a single product in very good yields (75–85%) with high stereo- and enantio-selectivity; the enantiomeric ratio reaches as high as 98.5 : 1.5. Moreover, it involves an aryne-induced domino reaction and an unusual 1,4-intramolecular proton transfer, which overwhelms the well-established 1,5-proton transfer.