A highly chemo-, diastereo-, and enantioselective Cu(I)/(S,S)-iPr-FOXAP-catalyzed Michael addition of ketiminoester to β-trifluoromethyl β,β-disubstituted enones was developed. This method provides facile access to highly functionalized 1-pyrrolines bearing two contiguous stereocenters, including a trifluoromethylated all-carbon quaternary stereocenter, via one-pot hydrolytic cyclization (up to >20 : 1 cr, > 20 : 1 dr, and 98% ee). The addition of trace amounts of water to the direct 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition is crucial for obtaining 1-pyrrolines with high chemoselectivities rather than pyrrolidines.

An efficient cascade β-metalation/addition/cyclization reaction promoted by LDA is described in which 3-amino furans were constructed from enaminones and aldehydes. A broad range of substituents on the starting compounds was tolerated, and the polysubstituted furans were gained with moderate to excellent yields within 2 h.

An efficient cascade copper-catalyzed intermolecular Ullmann-type C–N coupling/enamine condensation reaction is described, in which ortho-acylanilines and alkenyl iodides converted to multisubstituted quinolines in good to excellent yields.