A one-pot combination of amine and heterocyclic carbene catalysis: direct asymmetric synthesis of β-hydroxy and β-malonate esters from α,β-unsaturated aldehydes

The one-pot combination of amine and heterocyclic carbene catalysis (AHCC) enabled the synthesis of β-hydroxy, β-malonate and β-amino esters from α,β-unsaturated aldehydes with high enantioselectivity (91–97% ee).