α-Amino Acid Induced Rate Acceleration in Aqueous Biphasic Lewis Acid Catalyzed Michael Addition Reactions

摘要

Water is of increasing importance as a cheap, safe, and environmentally benign reaction medium.[1] Indeed, aqueous biphasic catalysis is one of the most promising strategies towards more economical and greener processes.[2] However, progress in the development of efficient catalysts that are also highly water-soluble has been slow.[1e] With regard to the natural abundance of -amino acids, it is somewhat surprising that their use as ligands in Lewis acid catalysis remains largely unexplored. A likely explanation is their low solubility in the organic solvents used ubiquitously for metal-catalyzed reactions. In water, however, the solubility of -amino acids is not limiting, and their potential as ligands in aqueous Lewis acid catalysis deserves exploration.