Chiral primary amine catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition of malononitrile to α-substituted vinyl ketone.

The first efficient and highly enantioselective Michael addition-protonation reaction of malononitriles to α-substituted vinyl ketones has been developed by using a chiral primary amine as the organocatalyst. With a Hantzsch ester as the hydride source, an enantioselective tandem reduction, Michael addition-protonation reaction of benzylidenemalononitrile has also been achieved with good yields and high enantioselectivities.