Controlling the activity of organocatalysts: modulating conformation and acidity

Abstract

The catalyst-substrate interaction in organocatalysis is weaker than the corresponding interactions in organometallic catalysis. In the case of organocatalysis, non-covalent interactions (NCI) play an important role in enhancing these interactions. Conventionally, restricting the access of reactant to one face of a prochiral substrate is often accomplished by steric factors in an enantioselective process. In general the shape complementarity of the chiral binding pocket to the transition states of the reaction is a prerequisite for a stereoselective process. I