Presentation: 2025 ND EPSCoR Annual conference 

October 21, 2025, NDSU Memorial Union, Fargo, North Dakota

Expanding substrate diversity for enantioselective reactions using β,β-disubstituted enoates

The formation of carbon-carbon bonds remains a cornerstone of organic synthesis, particularly in the synthesis of stereochemically complex molecules. Chiral tertiary and quaternary centers are especially challenging to access, yet they are critical motifs in pharmaceuticals and natural products. Developing general, enantioselective methods to construct these centers is therefore of high synthetic value. Our research focuses on expanding the substrate scope of ,-disubstituted electrophiles in asymmetric conjugate additions and cycloadditions through the use of catalysis and green chemistry. While current methodologies are largely limited to alkyl, aryl, and trifluoromethyl groups, we have developed new ,-disubstituted scaffolds that enable broader functional group tolerance. These advances contribute to the development of more general, sustainable, and catalytic strategies for constructing complex chiral molecules. Details of enantioselective conjugate additions and cycloadditions using our new substrates will be presented.