Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 18, 2026

Fu's Planar DMAP

4-(dimethylamino)pyridine(DMAP) is a nucleophilic catalyst that was frequently used for the acylation of alcohols and the rearrangement of O-acylated enolates. Due to the need for an enantioselective version of this catalyst, Gregory Fu π-complexed the heterocycle with a metal and added a substituent to the 2nd position on the ring. This resulted in a planar chiral DMAP, which can be used as an enantioselective catalyst.

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4-(dimethylamino)pyridine(DMAP) is a nucleophilic catalyst that was frequently used for the acylation of alcohols and the rearrangement of O-acylated enolates. Due to the need for an enantioselective version of this catalyst, Gregory Fu π-complexed the heterocycle with a metal and added a substituent to the 2nd position on the ring. This resulted in a planar chiral DMAP, which can be used as an enantioselective catalyst.1

References

References

  1. Fu, Gregory C. (2004-08-01). "Asymmetric Catalysis with "Planar-Chiral" Derivatives of 4-(Dimethylamino)pyridine". Accounts of Chemical Research. 37 (8): 542–547. doi:10.1021/ar030051b. ISSN 0001-4842.