Asymmetric Catalytic Reactions of Donor‐Acceptor Cyclopropanes

Due to the synergistic "push-pull" effect of vicinal electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups, donor-acceptor (D-A) cyclopropanes have been recognized as one of the most powerful reagents to generate polyfunctional reactive intermediates after a strain-driven ring cleavage. Enantioselective reactions of D-A cyclopropanes provide an efficient approach to enantioenriched acyclic and cyclic compouds. A number of chiral Lewis/Bronsted acids, transition metals and organocatalysts have been designed for such transformations, including ring-openings, annulations and rearrangements. This Minireview highlights the developments and new advances in this field and familiarizes the Reader with new synthetic opportunities offered by these interesting methodologies.