Catalytic activation of carbohydrates as formaldehyde equivalents for Stetter reaction with enones.

We disclose the first catalytic activation of carbohydrates as formaldehyde equivalents to generate acyl anions as one-carbon nucleophilic units for a Stetter reaction. The activation involves N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed C-C bond cleavage of carbohydrates via a retro-benzoin-type process to generate the acyl anion intermediates. This Stetter reaction constitutes the first success in generating formal formaldehyde-derived acyl anions as one-carbon nucleophiles for non-self-benzoin processes. The renewable nature of carbohydrates, accessible from biomass, further highlights the practical potential of this fundamentally interesting catalytic activation.