Asymmetric Michael additions of aldehydes to maleimides using a recyclable fluorous thiourea organocatalyst

Fluorous thiourea organocatalyst 3 promotes the Michael reaction of aldehydes with maleimides to afford the corresponding adducts in high yields with up to 99% ee. Fluorous organocatalyst 3 can be easily recovered as an insoluble precipitate from the reaction mixture by simple filtration and can be reused without significant loss of catalytic activity.