Enantioselective addition of selenosulfonates to α,β-unsaturated ketones

An organo-catalyzed enantioselective addition of selenosulfonates to alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones was developed for the first time. With a chiral squaramide as an efficient catalyst, the desired alpha-selenylated ketones were obtained in a good yields with high enantioselectivity up to 89% ee, and good results could be obtained on a gram scale. The products could also be efficiently transformed into useful building blocks with a propenylic stereocenter; the strategy presented in this study may find further applications in organic synthesis.