Synthesis and evaluation of new guanidine-thiourea organocatalyst for the nitro-Michael reaction: Theoretical studies on mechanism and enantioselectivity

A new guanidine-thiourea organocatalyst has been developed and applied as bifunctional organocatalyst in the Michael addition reaction of diethyl malonate to trans-β-nitrostyrene. Extensive DFT calculations, including solvent effects and dispersion corrections, as well as ab initio calculations provide a plausible description of the reaction mechanism.