Acyl transfer-enabled catalytic asymmetric Michael addition of α-hydroxy-1-indanones to nitroolefins

We report herein an enantioselective acyl transfer protocol via electrophile activation. The reaction cascade sequence encompasses dinuclear zinc-catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition, intramolecular cyclization, and retro-Claisen reaction, which leads to a step- and atom-economic approach to a variety of protected cyclic tertiary α-hydroxyketones in good yields with excellent enantioselectivities (24 examples, 56%-82% yield, 1.5-13 dr and 79%-96% ee). Besides, the large-scale synthesis and further transformation of the products demonstrate the effectiveness of this method for organic synthesis.