Asymmetric catalysis with chiral Lewis bases: A new frontier in main group chemistry

ORGN 329

Scott E. Denmark, denmark@scs.uiuc.edu, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 245 Roger Adams Laboratory Box 18-5, 600 S. Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801
The concept of electron pair bond formulated by G. N. Lewis, provides the foundation for our understanding of chemical structure and reactivity. The consequences of the donor-acceptor interactions between bases and acids are manifest in the spectacular diversity of transformations that form the basis for chemical synthesis. By systematic analysis of the origins of these phenomena, it is possible to gain a unified picture of how electron pair donors (Lewis bases) can modulate and influence chemical reactions by enhancing either (or both) electrophilic and nucleophilic character. This lecture will provide the theoretical foundation for these concepts and illustrate a number of reactions that are susceptible to catalysis by Lewis bases which, heretofore, were not recognized as candidates for catalysis.