In the reported Lewis base approaches, the key functionalities in these organocatalysts are either primary or secondary amines. We report here that hydrazine functionality is also an effective organocatalyst. It is well established that by attaching a heteroatom to an amine, its nucleophilicity will be greatly enhanced. [¹¹] We envision that if another nitrogen atom is attached to the amino functionality (hydrazine) of an organocatalyst, the so-called α-heteroatom effect could ...
