Jian-Qiang Zhao

TL;DR: An unprecedented organocatalytic asymmetric Michael/cyclization cascade reaction of 3-isothiocyanato oxindoles and 3-nitroindoles has been disclosed and a wide range of enantioenriched polycyclic spirooxindoles, containing three contiguous chiral centers with two of them having quaternary stereocenters are obtained.

TL;DR: The metal catalytic strategy in this work is significantly superior to the previous organocatalytic method in the diastereo- and enantioselectivities for almost all of the examined cases.

TL;DR: The reaction employs a chiral bis(oxazoline)/Zn(OTf)2 catalyst, allowing a practical, straightforward access to structurally diverse spirooxindoles containing a 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran motif and three contiguous stereocenters with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities.

TL;DR: The first organocatalyzed asymmetric dearomative cycloaddition between 2-nitrobenzofurans and isatin-derived Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates has been developed.