N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalyzed desymmetrizing reactions of olefins have rapidly developed in recent years; however, the origins of the chemo- and stereoselectivities of these reactions remain poorly understood. Herein, we… Click to show full abstract
N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalyzed desymmetrizing reactions of olefins have rapidly developed in recent years; however, the origins of the chemo- and stereoselectivities of these reactions remain poorly understood. Herein, we propose a mechanistic map for these reactions to predict how chemo- and stereoselectivities are controlled by different active intermediates (i.e., Breslow and acylazolium intermediates). Remarkably, our findings contradict a previous proposition that product structures are determined by a transformation between a pair of isomers.
               
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