Squaramide-catalyzed enantioselective Michael addition of nitromethane to 2-enoylazaarenes: synthesis of chiral azaarene-containing γ-nitroketones

Bifunctional chiral squaramide-catalyzed highly enantioselective Michael addition of nitromethane to diverse 2-enoylazaarenes was successfully performed. This protocol provided a set of chiral azaarene-containing γ-nitroketones with up to 98% yield and 98% ee in a solvent-free catalytic system under mild conditions. Furthermore, gram-scale synthetic utility was also showcased.