The development of new monometallic bifunctional catalysts with Lewis acid and Lewis base properties, and their application in asymmetric cyanation reactions.

Bifunctional catalysts can drastically improve the efficiency of asymmetric processes with respect to enantioselectivity and/or conversion rate. A new type of chiral bifunctional catalyst has been developed recently in the Shibasaki group that contains both Lewis acid and Lewis base moieties. These monometallic and bifunctional phosphinoyl-containing catalysts are able to coordinate both nucleophilic and electrophilic substrates in the transition state. Several successful applications of this new catalytic concept in the field of asymmetric cyanation reactions have already been reported, for example, the asymmetric hydrocyanation of aldehydes and imines as well as the asymmetric Reissert reaction. The development and principle of this catalytic concept as well as main applications thereof are reviewed in this article.