Hydrogen-bond catalysis

Hydrogen bonding (HB) is a ubiquitous force in nature. It plays a crucial role in biocatalysis. Not until recently have chemists begun to implement this force in catalysis, but already with extraordinary success. However, chemists have only recently attempted to harness the power of using hydrogen bonds to perform catalysis, and the field is relatively undeveloped compared to research in Lewis acid catalysis. Nevertheless, the development of chiral Brønsted acids as activation forces is a highly challenging task in asymmetric catalysis, presumably because much weaker hydrogen-bonding interactions between the promoter and substrates would be the source of stereochemical control.