Organocatalytic Knoevenagel condensation by chiral C2-symmetric tertiary diamines

The efficient Knoevenagel condensation catalyzed by (1S,2S)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane derivatives is presented and investigated. Various aliphatic aldehydes undergo condensation with active methylene compounds to yield the corresponding products in high yields. α-Branched aldehydes were found to be efficiently converted to the corresponding enantiomerically enriched products by using these chiral tertiary diamine catalysts.