One Step Synthesis of Chiral Olefins via Asymmetric Diamination and their Applications as Ligands for Rhodium(I)‐Catalyzed 1,4‐Additions

A variety of acyclic chiral dienes were synthesized in a single step via palladium(0)‐catalyzed asymmetric allylic and homoallylic C H diamination of terminal olefins. The applications of such simple dienes as steering ligands for rhodium(I)‐catalyzed asymmetric 1,4‐additions afforded the corresponding adducts in excellent yields and up to 85% ee.     

Palladium‐Catalysed Enantioselective Conjugate Addition of Aromatic Amines to α,β‐Unsaturated N‐Imides. Effect of the Chelating Moiety

Palladium‐catalysed enantioselective additions of aromatic amines to α,β‐unsaturated N‐imides 4 – 6 are reported. The N‐substituent of the Michael acceptor appears to have an unusual modulating effect on the amine activity. The effects of introducing different substituents are examined. Overall, the yield and selectivity of the system appear to be less sensitive to environmental effects than previous systems. The importance of the counteranion is revealed.     

Asymmetric 1,4‐Addition of Diethylzinc to Cyclic Enones Catalyzed by Cu(I)‐Chiral Sulfonamide‐Thiophosphoramide Ligands and Lithium Salts

The chiral sulfonamide‐thiophosphoramide ligand L1 , prepared from the reaction of (1R,2R)‐(−)‐1,2‐cyclohexanediamine with diphenylthiophosphoryl chloride and p‐toluenesulfonyl chloride, was used as a chiral ligand in Cu(MeCN)₄ClO₄‐promoted catalytic asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to cyclic enones using LiCl as an additive in which up to 90% ee can be realized under mild conditions within 0.5 h. This chiral ligand is stable and recoverable after usual work‐up and can be reused in the same catalytic asymmetric reaction. Moreover, it was found that this series of chiral ligands represents a type of S,O‐bidentate ligands on the basis of ¹H NMR, ³¹P NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopic investigations. The linear effect of ligand ee and product ee further revealed that the active species is a monomeric Cu(I) complex bearing a single ligand.     

Asymmetric Dihydroxylation of 2‐Substituted 1‐Vinylferrocenes: The First Non‐Enzymatic Kinetic Resolution of Planar‐Chiral Ferrocenes

The first non‐enzymatic kinetic resolution of planar chiral ferrocenes has been achieved by the Sharpless catalytic asymmetric dihydroxylation (AD) of a set of racemic 2‐substituted 1‐ethenylferrocenes 1a – d . The enantioselectivity factor k_rel varies from 20 to 62 [for (DHQD)₂PYR ligands], and from 5 to 27 [for (DHQ)₂PYR ligands]. The stereochemical outcome of the resolution can be easily predicted by the mnemonic device for AD, with the additional hypothesis that in the preferred transition state the olefin group and the upper cyclopentadiene ring of vinylferrocenes exhibit an essentially coplanar geometry.     

Palladium(II)‐Catalyzed 1,4‐Addition of Arylboronic Acids to β‐Arylenones for Enantioselective Synthesis of 4‐Aryl‐4H‐chromenes

The enantioselective 1,4‐addition of arylboronic acids to β‐arylenones to give β‐diaryl ketones was carried out at 0–25 °C in the presence of a dicationic palladium(II) catalyst, [Pd(S,S‐chiraphos)(PhCN)₂](SbF₆)₂. Addition of a silver salt such as silver tetrafluoroborate [AgBF₄] or silver hexafluoroantimonate [AgSbF₆] (5–10 mol %) was effective to achieve high enantioselectivities at low temperatures (92–99 % ee) and to reduce the catalyst loading to 0.05 mol %. The protocol provided a simple access to 4‐aryl‐4H‐chromenes. Optically active chromenes were synthesized with up to 99 % ee via dehydration of the 1,4‐adducts between arylboronic acids and β‐(2‐hydroxyaryl)‐α,β‐unsaturated ketones.     

Organocatalytic Asymmetric Sulfa‐Michael Addition to α,β‐Unsaturated Ketones

The highly enantioselective organocatalytic sulfa‐Michael addition to α,β‐unsaturated ketones has been accomplished using benzyl and tert‐butyl mercaptans as the sulfur‐centered nucleophiles. Optically active products are obtained in high yields and good to excellent stereocontrol (up to 96 % ee) from a large variety of enones. Central to these studies has been the use of the catalytic primary amine salt A , derived from 9‐amino‐(9‐deoxy)‐epi‐hydroquinine and D ‐N‐Boc‐phenylglycine, in which both the cation and the anion are chiral, that exhibits high reactivity and selectivity for iminium ion catalysis with enones.     

Deoxycholic Acid‐Derived Biaryl Phosphites as Versatile and Enantioselective Ligands in the Rhodium‐Catalyzed Conjugate Addition of Arylboronic Acids to Nitroalkenes

A highly enantioselective conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to cyclic as well as acyclic aromatic and aliphatic nitroalkenes is presented. The rhodium complexes obtained from deoxycholic acid‐derived binaphthyl and flexible biphenyl phosphites showed good activity as well as very high enantioselectivity (ee up to 99%) in the conjugated addition even in the presence of challenging substrates such as 1‐nitrocyclohexene or aliphatic acyclic nitroalkenes.

     

Hydrolytic Kinetic Resolution of Epoxides Catalyzed by Chromium(III)‐endo,endo‐2,5‐diaminonorbornane‐salen [Cr(III)‐DIANANE‐salen] Complexes. Improved Activity,Low Catalyst Loading

The hydrolytic kinetic resolution (HKR) of terminal epoxides, using chiral chromium(III )‐salen catalysts based on DIANANE (endo,endo‐2,5‐diaminonorbornane), was studied. A broad substrate scope was found for the chromium(III )‐DIANANE catalysts, and very low loadings (down to 0.05 mol %) were needed to achieve high enantiomeric purities of both the remaining epoxides and the product diols (up to >99 % ee). Besides monosubstituted epoxides, 2‐methyl‐2‐n‐pentyloxirane, which is an example for 2,2‐disubstituted epoxides, could be ring‐opened in an asymmetric fashion with water in the presence of an electronically tuned chromium(III )‐DIANANE complex.     

Stereoselective thia‐Michael 1,4‐Addition to Acyclic 2,4‐Dienones and 2‐En‐4‐ynones

Organocatalyzed highly stereoselective 1,4‐thia‐Michael addition of mercaptans to linear 2,4‐dienones and 2‐en‐4‐ynones was developed using Cinchona alkaloid‐based squaramides. Application of only 0.5–1 mol % loading afforded products in up to 98:2 e.r. and above 99:1 after a single recrystallization. The adducts of allyl mercaptan can be conveniently further transformed to new chiral 2‐substituted 2,5‐dihydrothiophenes by ring‐closing metathesis.

     

Copper(II)‐Catalyzed Asymmetric 1,3‐Dipolar [3+4] Cycloaddition and Kinetic Resolution of Azomethine Imines with Azoalkenes

An unprecedented copper(II)‐catalyzed enantioselective 1,3‐dipolar [3+4] cycloaddition of azomethine imines with in situ formed azoalkenes has been realized. This strategy provides a facile access to biologically important 1,2,4,5‐tetrazepine derivatives in high yield with exclusive regioselectivity and high stereoselectivity. Moreover, enantioenriched azomethine imines could be obtained via an efficient kinetic resolution using the same approach.

     

N‐Octanoyldimethylglycine Trifluoroethyl Ester,an Acyl Donor Leading to Highly Enantioselective Protease‐Catalysed Kinetic Resolution of Amines

The use of N‐octanoyldimethylglycine trifluoroethyl ester as acyl donor in the kinetic resolution of aliphatic amines catalysed by proteases led to enantiomeric ratios >200 in most cases. The resolutions mediated by Protex 6L were shown to be much faster than the resolutions achieved with the most efficient commercially available serine proteases, i.e., alkaline protease, Properase 1600L, and Subtilisin     

Bicyclic O,P Ligands for Catalytic Asymmetric 1,4‐Addition to α,β‐Unsaturated Ketones

A new class of bicyclic O,P ligands has been prepared and evaluated in the 1,4‐addition to α,β‐unsaturated ketones. The best results with the bicyclic ligand were obtained using a lower catalyst loading than what has been reported with similar ligands when adding a Grignard reagent to 2‐cyclohexenone.     

Copper‐Catalysed Conjugate Addition of Grignard Reagents to 2‐Methylcyclopentenone and Sequential Enolate Alkylation

The copper/Rev‐JosiPhos‐catalysed asymmetric conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to 2‐methylcyclopentenone ( 1 ) provides 2,3‐disubstituted cyclopentanones in high yields and enantioselectivities, and good diastereoselectivities. Reaction of the in situ formed enolate with various alkylating reagents in the presence of 1,3‐dimethyltetrahydropyrimidine‐2(1H)‐one (DMPU) affords the corresponding products in a one‐pot reaction. This procedure creates two vicinal stereocentres, one of them quaternary.

     

Cooperative Activation in the Hydrolytic Kinetic Resolution of Epoxides by a Bis‐Cobalt(III)salen‐Calix[4]arene Hybrid

A chiral, bimetallic cobalt(III)salen‐calix[4]arene hybrid structure was prepared and tested in the hydrolytic kinetic resolution (HKR) of racemic epoxides. Kinetic studies have revealed that the two catalytic units on the upper rim of the calixarene scaffold are able to activate the reactants in a cooperative and primarily intramolecular mode. High enantioselective behaviour was observed and besides, a higher stability was found for the bimetallic catalyst as compared to a monometallic reference complex.     

Transfer Hydrogenation of α‐Branched Ketimines: Enantioselective Synthesis of Cycloalkylamines via Dynamic Kinetic Resolution

The transfer hydrogenation of 2‐substituted bicyclic and monocyclic ketimines using HCO₂H/ Et₃N as the hydrogen source and TsDPEN‐based Ru(II) and Ir(III) catalysts proceeds with dynamic kinetic resolution to afford the corresponding cis‐cycloalkylamines with moderate to excellent levels of diastero‐ and enantioselectivity. A “one‐pot” procedure starting from ketones as starting materials with in situ formation of the reacting imines has also been developed.     

Access to Stereodefined Trisubstituted Alkenes via Rhodium‐Catalyzed 1,4‐Addition of Potassium Trifluoro(organo)‐ borates to Baylis–Hillman Adducts

In the presence of a rhodium catalyst, unactivated Baylis–Hillman adducts reacted regioselectively with potassium trifluoro(organo)borates to afford stereodefined trisubstituted alkenes with good yields. This highly efficient reaction (aerobic conditions, low temperature, absence of added phosphane ligand) is believed to proceed via a 1,4‐addition/β‐hydroxy elimination mechanism.     

Chiral Squaramide‐Catalyzed Highly Enantioselective Michael Addition of 2‐Hydroxy‐1,4‐naphthoquinones to Nitroalkenes

A chiral squaramide‐organocatalyzed, highly enantioselective Michael addition of 2‐hydroxy‐1,4‐naphthoquinones to nitroalkenes has been developed. This reaction afforded the chiral naphthoquinones in excellent yields (up to 99%) and excellent enantioselectivity (up to 98% ee) under very low catalyst loading (0.25 mol%). This organocatalytic asymmetric Michael addition provides an efficient alternative route toward the synthesis of chiral functionalized naphthoquinones.     

Synthesis of Chiral 2‐Hydroxy‐1‐methylpropanoates by Rhodium‐Catalyzed Stereoselective Hydrogenation of α‐(Hydroxymethyl)‐acrylate Derivatives

The synthesis of chiral 3‐hydroxy‐2‐methylpropanoic acid esters (e.g., “Roche ester” 3a ) based on the rhodium‐catalyzed stereoselective hydrogenation of Baylis–Hillman reaction products was investigated. Full conversions and enantioselectivities of up to 99% at a substrate/catalyst ratio of up to 500/1 were achieved by application of bisphospholanes of the catASium M series as ancillary ligands. An interesting kinetic resolution was observed by the diastereoselective hydroxy‐directed hydrogenation of related racemic β‐branched precursors affording mainly anti‐isomers with up to 96%ee.     

Hydrogenation of α‐Keto Ethers: Dynamic Kinetic Resolution with a Heterogeneous Modified Catalyst and a Heterogeneous Base

The first successful example of the asymmetric hydrogenation of substituted α‐keto ethers with Cinchona‐modified Pt/Al₂O₃ is reported. In the absence of an additional base, kinetic resolution of the racemic starting material was observed with high diastereoselectivity and ee's up to 98% at conversions of <50%. Addition of KOH gave a strong reaction acceleration but racemic product. Immobilization of OH ^– on solid ion exchangers resulted in the desired dynamic kinetic resolution, and ee's of >80% were obtained at >95% conversion. These effects are rationalized on the basis of a simple kinetic and structural model.