An Organocatalytic Addition of Nitromethane to Activated Ketimines

We report an organocatalytic addition of nitromethane to aryl -ketoester-derived N-tosyl ketimines or isatin-derived N-tert-butyloxycarbonyl ketimines, catalyzed by 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (1-5mol%). Initial screenings reveal that the reaction with a quinine-derived bifunctional catalyst, which features a C6 phenolic hydroxy group, achieved up to 71% ee.