The unprecedented diaza–ene reaction of formaldehyde N-tert-butyl hydrazone with nitroalkenes can be efficiently catalyzed by an axially chiral bis-thiourea to afford the corresponding diazenes in good to excellent yields (60–96%) and moderate enantioselectivities, up to 84
:16 er; additional transformation of diazenes into their tautomeric hydrazones proved to be operationally simple and high-yielding, affording bifunctional compounds which represent useful intermediates for the synthesis of enantioenriched β-nitro-nitriles and derivatives thereof.
Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry
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