Synthesis and structure of an air-stable cationic organobismuth complex and its use as a highly efficient catalyst for the direct diastereoselective Mannich reaction in waterElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Characterization details for complex 1, Mannich reaction experiments and proposed reaction mechanism. CCDC 728508. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/b908234d

An air-stable cationic organobismuth complex was successfully synthesized and found to show high catalytic efficiency in the direct diastereoselective Mannich reaction in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]