Highly Enantioselective Hydrogenation of Itaconic Acid Derivatives with a Chiral Bisphospholane‐Rh(I) Catalyst

The new – commercially in multi‐kg quantities available – chiral bisphospholane ligand, catASium^® M, has been successfully used in the Rh(I)‐catalysed enantioselective hydrogenation of itaconic acid derivatives. Chiral ß‐substituted succinic acid derivatives were produced in good to excellent enantioselectivities. Turnover frequencies by up to 40,000 h⁻¹ have been achieved.     

Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Quinoxalines Catalyzed by Iridium/PipPhos

A catalyst made in situ from the (cyclooctadiene)iridium chloride dimer, [Ir(COD)Cl]₂, and the monodentate phosphoramidite ligand (S)‐PipPhos was used in the enantioselective hydrogenation of 2‐ and 2,6‐substituted quinoxalines. In the presence of piperidine hydrochloride as additive full conversions and enantioselectivities of up to 96% are obtained.     

Asymmetric Homogeneous Hydrogenation in Flow using a Tube‐in‐Tube Reactor

In this update, the asymmetric homogeneous hydrogenation of a number of trisubstituted olefins utilizing the recently developed tube‐in‐tube gas‐liquid flow reactor is described. A number of chiral iridium‐ and rhodium‐based catalysts and other parameters such as pressure, solvent, temperature and catalyst loading were screened. The advantage of the flow set‐up for rapid screening and optimization of reaction parameters is illustrated. Furthermore, a comparative study using batch conditions aided in the optimization of the flow reaction set‐up. The set‐up was further modified to recycle the catalyst which prolonged catalytic activity.     

Novel Enantioselective Sequentially Rhodium(I)/BINAP‐ Catalyzed Cycloisomerization–Hydrogenation–Isomerization– Acetalization (CIHIA)

Linear, easily accessible alkyl and (hetero)aryl‐substituted alkynyl allyl alcohols are readily and enantioselectively transformed into 2,7‐dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes by a sequential rhodium‐catalyzed process. Based on the initial cycloisomerization, the in situ generated rhodium(I)‐BINAP complex enables a subsequent reduction with hydrogen and the transformation into bicyclic frameworks.     

Impact of Incorporating Substituents onto the P‐o‐Anisyl Groups of DiPAMP Ligand on the Rhodium(I)‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Olefins

The introduction of 1,2‐bis[(o‐anisyl)(phenyl)phosphino]ethane (DiPAMP) as a P‐stereogenic ligand for rhodium(I)‐catalyzed hydrogenation by Knowles et al. came after their evaluation of several diphosphines. However, no in‐depth study was carried out on incorporating various substituents on its P‐o‐anisyl groups. In this work, we have prepared a large series of enantiopure and closely related DiPAMP analogues possessing various substituents (MeO, TMS, t‐Bu, Ph, fused benzene ring) on the o‐anisyl rings. The new ligands were evaluated in rhodium‐catalyzed hydrogenation of several model substrates: methyl α‐acetamidoacrylate, methyl (Z)‐α‐acetamidocinnamate, methyl (Z)‐β‐acetamidocrotonate, dimethyl itaconate, and atropic acid. They displayed enhanced activities and increased enantioselectivities, particularly the P‐(2,3,4,5‐tetra‐MeO‐C₆H)‐substituted ligand (4MeBigFUS). Interestingly enough, 88% ee was obtained in the hydrogenation of atropic acid using the Rh‐(4MeBigFUS) catalyst under mild conditions (10 bar H₂, room temperature) versus 7% ee using Rh‐DiPAMP. Conversely, the ligand possessing P‐(2,6‐di‐MeO‐C₆H₃) groups proved to slow down considerably the hydrogenation. X‐Ray structures of their corresponding Rh complexes are presented and discussed.     

Novel Amido‐Complexes for the Efficient Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Imines

Novel N,N,P ligand stabilized rhodium complexes exhibiting high activities and enantioselectivities in the asymmetric hydrogenation of N‐aryl imines are introduced. The ligands were synthesized from inexpensive starting materials and their modular design allows for the introduction of a broad variety of substitution patterns. Additionally, a rather low catalyst loading could be employed.     

DiPAMP’s Big Brother “i‐Pr‐SMS‐Phos” Exhibits Exceptional Features Enhancing Rhodium(I)‐Catalyzed Hydrogenation of Olefins

Switching Knowles DiPAMP’s {DiPAMP=1,2‐bis[(o‐anisyl)(phenyl)phosphino]‐ ethane} MeO groups with i‐PrO ones led to the i‐Pr‐SMS‐Phos {i‐Pr‐SMS‐Phos=1,2‐bis[(o‐isoprop‐ oxyphenyl)(phenyl)phosphino]ethane} ligand which displayed a boosted catalyst activity coupled with an enhanced enantioselectivity in the rhodium(I)‐catalyzed hydrogenation of a wide‐range of representative olefinic substrates (dehydro‐α‐amido acids, itaconates, acrylates, enamides, enol acetates, α,α‐diarylethylenes, etc). The rhodium(I)‐(i‐Pr‐SMS‐Phos) catalytic profile was investigated revealing its structural attributes and robustness, and in contrast to the usual trend, ³¹P NMR analysis revealed that its methyl (Z)‐α‐acetamidocinnamate (MAC) adduct consisted of a reversed diastereomeric ratio of 1.4:1 in favour of the most reactive diastereomer.     

The Synthesis of Spirobitetraline Phosphoramidite Ligands and their Application in Rhodium‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation

A racemic 1,1′ ‐ spirobitetralin‐8,8′‐diol (SBITOL) was conveniently synthesized from 3‐methoxybenzaldehyde in 26 % yield over 9 steps and resolved via its bis‐(S)‐camphorsulfonates. The corresponding chiral spirobitetraline monophosphoramidite ligands have been prepared and their rhodium complexes were applied in the asymmetric hydrogenation of dehydroamino esters with good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99.3 % ee).     

Highly Modular P‐O‐P Ligands for Asymmetric Hydrogenation

The preparation of a library of new P‐O‐P ligands (phosphine‐phosphites and phosphine‐phosphinites), easily available in two synthetic steps from enantiopure Sharpless epoxy ethers, is reported. The “lead” catalyst of the series has proven to have outstanding catalytic properties in the rhodium‐catalysed asymmetric hydrogenation of a wide variety of functionalised alkenes (16 examples). The excellent performance and modular design of the catalysts makes them attractive for future applications.     

Asymmetric Synthesis of the Roche Ester and its Derivatives by Rhodium‐INDOLPHOS‐Catalyzed Hydrogenation

(S)‐3‐Hydroxy‐2‐methylpropionate, known as the Roche ester, and several of its derivatives were successfully synthesized through asymmetric rhodium‐catalyzed hydrogenation, using INDOLPHOS (diisopropyl{1‐[(S)‐3,5‐dioxa‐4‐phosphacyclohepta[2,1‐a;3,4‐a′]dinaphthalen‐4‐yl]‐3‐methyl‐2‐indolyl}phosphine) as the chiral ligand, in excellent yield and the highest ee reported up to now (TOF over 5500 h⁻¹ at 25 °C; up to 98% ee at −40 °C).     

A Mixed Ligand Approach for the Asymmetric Hydrogenation of 2‐Substituted Pyridinium Salts

Herein we describe a new methodology for the asymmetric hydrogenation (AH) of 2‐substituted pyridinium salts. An iridium catalyst based on a mixture of a chiral monodentate phosphoramidite and an achiral phosphine was shown to hydrogenate N‐benzyl‐2‐arylpyiridinium bromides to the corresponding N‐benzyl‐2‐arylpiperidines with full conversion and good enantioselectivity. The mechanism of the reaction under optimized conditions was investigated via kinetic measurements and isotopic labeling experiments. Our study suggests that the hydrogenation starts with a 1,4‐hydride addition and that the enantiodiscriminating step involves the reduction of an iminium intermediate.

     

Practical by Ligand Design: A New Class of Monodentate Phosphoramidite Ligands for Rhodium‐Catalyzed Enantioselective Hydrogenations

A new class of low‐cost and easy‐to‐prepare monodentate phosphoramidite ligands (CydamPhos) has been developed from readily accessible and cheap trans‐1,2‐diaminocyclohexane as starting material through a three‐step transformation. This type of ligands exhibited excellent enantioseletivities and high activities in rhodium(I)‐catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenations of dehydro‐α‐amino acid methyl esters 9 (ee: 96.2–99.8 %) and acetylenamides 11 (91.8–98.8 %). The remarkable substituent effects exhibited by the ligands on the enantioselective control of the catalysis are rationalized on the basis of molecular structure of the catalyst precursor.     

离子液体在苯乙酮不对称加氢反应中的应用

过渡金属配合物催化的潜手性酮不对称加氢反应是制备手性仲醇的一个有效方法,在医药、精细化工及先进材料等领域具有非常重要的应用。采用离子液体-有机溶剂双液相体系,以手性二胺及非手性单膦配体修饰的Ru配合物为催化剂,催化潜手性酮的不对称加氢反应。考察了反应温度、氢气压力、溶剂和离子液体用量等因素对反应结果的影响,同时也考察了催化剂在反应体系中的流失情况。结果表明离子液体可以有效地负载手性催化剂,催化剂在反应过程中的流失量很低,可以实现简单的萃取分离     

Fluorinated Alcohols as Solvents for Enantioselective Hydrogenation with Chiral Self‐Assembling Rhodium Catalysts

We herein describe the beneficial effect of fluorinated alcohols on asymmetric hydrogenation using chiral self‐assembling rhodium complexes. Previously, the application of these catalysts has been hampered by low reaction rates in non‐polar solvents, which are essential for establishing the self‐assembling architecture via hydrogen bonding. Excellent reaction rates are usually observed in alcohols as solvents, but the characteristic hydrogen bonds are cleaved in those media, resulting in poor ee values. We now show for the first time that the disadvantageous properties of both solvent classes on the catalytic reaction can be overcome by using fluorinated alcohols. Due to this key finding, homogeneous catalysis with self‐assembling catalysts is much closer to practical application.     

Enantioselective Hydrogenation of the Tetrasubstituted C=C Bond of Enamides Catalyzed by a Ruthenium Catalyst Generated in situ

The enantioselective hydrogenation of enamides bearing an endocyclic tetrasubstituted carbon‐carbon double bond has been performed in the presence of ruthenium catalyst precursors prepared from Ru(cod)(methallyl)₂, Duphos, or BPE as optically active ligand and HBF₄. This promising catalytic system makes possible the selective cis‐hydrogenation with satisfactory enantioselectivities (up to 72% ee) for this type of tetrasubstituted double bonds.