Mechanistic Insights into the Mode of Action of Bifunctional Pyrrolidine-Squaramide-Derived Organocatalysts

The catalytic modes of action of three squaramide-derived bifunctional organocatalysts have been investigated using DFT methods. The [5+2] cycloaddition between oxidopyrylium ylides and enals was used as the model reaction. Two primary modes were possible for the different catalysts studied. The preference for one mode over the other was due to the possibility of additional favorable p-p interactions between the hydrogen-bond activated pyrylium ylide and an electron-deficient aromatic ring bonded to the squaramide NH group. The model can be extended to other reactions catalyzed by the same catalysts, such as formal [2+2] cycloadditions between nitroalkenes and a, b-unsaturated aldehydes. The computational results were in excellent concurrence with the available experimental reports on the observed total enantioselectivity and differences in diastereoselectivity depending on the substrate and the reaction.