1,1-Diamino-2-nitroethylenes as excellent hydrogen bond donor organocatalysts in the Michael addition of carbon-based nucleophiles to β-nitrostyrenes

A new class of hydrogen bond donor catalysts based on the 1,1-diamino-2-nitroethylene scaffold has been introduced for the activation of trans-β-nitrostyrenes toward reactions with a range of carbon-based nucleophiles, affording the corresponding adducts in excellent yields. Importantly, this new set of organocatalysts is easily prepared from commercially available starting materials in mild reaction conditions.