Asymmetric oxidations of electron-poor alkenes promoted by the b-amino alcohol/TBHP system

The asymmetric oxyfunctionalization of alkenes is a fundamental process in synthetic organic chemistry. In this contribution, we review our findings on the enantioselective organocatalyzed oxidation of electron-poor alkenes. Readily or commercially available beta-amino alcohols displayed catalytic activity in the asymmetric epoxidation of alpha,beta-enones and beta-peroxidation of nitroalkenes with tert-butyl hydroperoxicle (TBHP) as the oxidant. The corresponding epoxides and peroxides were isolated in good to high yield and enantioselectivity