Highly enantioselective reduction of β-amino nitroolefins with a simple N-sulfinyl urea as bifunctional catalyst.

Simple but effective: A structurally simple N-sulfinyl urea was found to be a highly efficient bifunctional catalyst, which allows for the development of a novel pathway for the construction of chiral β-amino nitroalkanes through enantioselective reduction of β-amino nitroolefins by trichlorosilane. High yields and excellent enantioselectivities were obtained for a broad range of β-arylamino nitroolefin substrates (see scheme).