Chiral‐at‐Metal Rhodium(III) Complex Catalyzed Enantioselective Vinylogous Michael Addition of α,α‐Dicyanoolefins with α,β‐Unsaturated 2‐Acyl Imidazoles

Abstract As a development of traditional vinylogous Michael addition reactions, catalytic enantioselective γ ‐functionalization of α , α ‐dicyanoolefins possesses a remarkable advantage in carboxylic derivatives synthesis and has emerged as a powerful tool for the preparation of high value chemicals. In another hand, the development of versatile and highly efficient catalyst is quite critical for such asymmetric transformations. Herein, a newly developed chiral‐at‐metal rhodium (III) complex catalyzed enantioselective vinylogous Michael addition of α , α ‐dicyanoolefins with α , β ‐unsaturated 2‐acyl imidazoles has been realized, delivering the corresponding adducts in 68−89 % yields with up to 95 % enantioselectivity. The reaction can be conducted on a gram‐scale using a low catalyst loading (0.5 mol %) without impacting its efficiency.