Non-covalent chiral assembly enables enantioselective hydrogen-atom transfer

Researchers report a new approach to enantioselective hydrogen-atom transfer by in situ non-covalent self-assembly of chiral phosphoric acids with 2-mercaptopyridines, turning an achiral thiol into a chiral HAT catalyst. This modular assembly steers hydrogen atom abstraction and delivery in a photochemical deracemization of 2-aryl pyrrolidines, expanding the accessible space for asymmetric radical transformations.