Highly acidic conjugate‐base‐stabilized carboxylic acids catalyze enantioselective oxa‐Pictet–Spengler reactions with ketals

Acyclic ketone-derived oxocarbenium ions are involved as intermediates in numerous reactions that provide valuable products, however, they have thus far eluded efforts aimed at asymmetric catalysis. We report that a readily accessible chiral carboxylic acid catalyst exerts control over asymmetric cyclizations of acyclic ketone-derived trisubstituted oxocarbenium ions, thereby providing access to highly enantioenriched dihydropyran products containing a tetrasubstituted stereogenic center. The high acidity of the carboxylic acid catalyst, which exceeds that of the well-known chiral phosphoric acid catalyst TRIP, is largely derived from stabilization of the carboxylate conjugate base through intramolecular anion-binding to a thiourea site.