The construction of a chiral halogenated cyclic quaternary carbon center through various
catalytic strategies is an emerging hot topic in the field of asymmetric synthesis.
Herein, we give a summary of recently developed synthetic methods for preparing such
structures. In addition, a novel enolate activation mode of aldehydes is highlighted,
which provides an elegant pathway to access enantiopure heterocycles featuring a halogenated
quaternary stereocenter through organocatalytic [4+2] cycloaddition.
Key words
enolate activation - halogenated aldehydes - organocatalysis - quaternary stereocenter
- spirocyclopropane