The first catalyst whose enantioselectivity can be switched back and forth during a reaction has been implemented in the context of copper-catalysed hydrosilylation of ketones. The dynamic property of the catalyst is provided by the non-covalent nature of the helical assemblies supporting the copper centres. These results could provide access to any diastereomer in cascade reactions without purification of the reaction intermediate.
These results were obtained in collaboration between the Polymer Chemistry team of IPCM and Chimie ParisTech, in the framework of the SupraCatal ANR project.
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