Enantioselective Brønsted Base Catalysis with Chiral Cyclopropenimines

Cyclopropenimines are shown to be a highly effective new class of enantioselective Brønsted base catalysts. A chiral 2,3-bis­(dialkylamino)­cyclopropenimine catalyzes the rapid Michael reaction of a glycine imine substrate with high levels of enantioselectivity. A preparative scale reaction to deliver 25 g of product is demonstrated, and a trivial large scale synthesis of the optimal catalyst is shown. In addition, the basicity of a 2,3-bis­(dialkylamino)­cyclopropenimine is measured for the first time and shown to be approximately equivalent to the P1-tBu phosphazene base. An X-ray crystal structure of the protonated catalyst is shown along with a proposed mechanistic and stereochemical rationale.