Enantioselective organocatalytic Michael-hemiketalization catalyzed by a trans-bifunctional indane thiourea catalyst

An efficient, convenient and enantioselective Michael-hemiketalization reaction has been developed for the synthesis of naphthoquinones. In this work, a novel trans-bifunctional indane thiourea catalyst has been reported to promote this process to afford high yields (up to 99%) and high to excellent enantiomeric excesses (90-98% ee).