N,N′‐Dioxide/Nickel(II)‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Inverse‐Electron‐Demand Hetero‐Diels–Alder Reaction of β,γ‐Unsaturated α‐Ketoesters with Enecarbamates

N,N'-Dioxide/nickel(II) complexes have been developed to catalyze the inverse-electron-demand hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters with acyclic enecarbamates. After detailed screening of the reaction parameters, mild optimized reaction conditions were established, affording 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyranamines in up to 99 % yield, 99 % ee and more than 95:5 d.r. The catalytic system was also efficient for β-substituted acyclic enecarbamates, affording more challenging 2,3,4-trisubstituted 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyranamine with three contiguous stereogenic centers in excellent yields, diastereoselectivities, and enantioselectivities. The reaction could be scaled up to a gram scale with no deterioration of either enantioselectivity or yield. Based on these experiments and on previous reports, a possible transition state was proposed.