Acetaldehyde: Use in Organocatalysis

Introduction

Acetaldehyde is a small organic molecule and the simplest enolazable aldehyde. It is an important synthon for the construction of β-amino acid derivatives, α-hydroxy ketones, and so forth, if suitable reagents are employed. ­Despite this versatility, the use of acetaldehyde can be complicated due to its tendency to oligomerize or poly­merize.

Recently, several research groups reported the multifarious utility of acetaldehyde in many diverse asymmetric organocatalytic transformations by controlling the reactivity of acetaldehyde.[1] The reactions furnished the corresponding products in high yields with stereoselectivities. An overview of typical applications of acetaldehyde is shown in Scheme [1].

Scheme 1 Versatile use of acetaldehyde in asymmetric organocatalysis

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