Water-Compatible Iminium Activation: Highly Enantioselective Organocatalytic Michael Addition of Malonates to α,β-Unsaturated Enones

The highly enantioselective Michael addition of malonates to α,β-unsaturated ketones in water was reported to be catalyzed by a primary−secondary diamine catalyst containing a long alkyl chain. This asymmetric Michael addition process was found to be effective for a variety of α,β-unsaturated ketones