Enantioselective Functionalization of Inactive sp(3) C-H Bonds Remote to Functional Group by Metal/Organo Cooperative Catalysis.

A metal/organo cooperative catalysis to enable the enantioselective functionalization of inactive C-H bonds γ to the formyl group in aliphatic aldehydes has been established. Instead of using enals as substrates in traditional organocatalytic cyclization reactions, the aliphatic aldehydes directly participated in [4 + 2] cyclization with quinone derivatives exploiting molecular oxygen as oxidants to afford optically active cyclic molecules with excellent levels of enantioselectivity. This method features a combination of pot, step, and atom economy.