Organocatalytic Enantioselective Aziridination of α‐Substituted α,β‐Unsaturated Aldehydes: Asymmetric Synthesis of Terminal Aziridines

The first example of a highly enantioselective organocatalytic aziridination of α‐substituted α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes is presented. The reaction is catalyzed by simple chiral amines and gives access to highly functional terminal azirdines containing an α‐tertiary amine stereocenter in high yields and enantiomeric ratios (95.5:4.5–98:2).     

Phase‐Transfer‐Catalyzed Enantioselective Mannich Reaction of Malonates with α‐Amido Sulfones

The highly enantioselective reaction between in situ generated, Cbz‐protected azomethines and malonates in the presence of 150 mol % of potassium carbonate (50 % w/w) and 1 mol % of quinine‐derived quaternary ammonium bromides as phase‐transfer organocatalysts has been developed. This study reports a novel approach for the asymmetric Mannich‐type reaction and a wide range of azomethines, including those derived from enolizable aldehydes, is tolerated by the present system. The adducts, obtained in excellent yields with ee up to 98 %, are suitable precursors of optically pure β‐amino acids.     

Biomimetic Cyclization of Small Terpenoids Promoted by Zeolite NaY: Tandem Formation of α‐Ambrinol from Geranyl Acetone

Zeolite NaY promotes efficiently the biomimetic cyclization of small acyclic terpenes. Geranyl and neryl acetone undergo a novel tandem 1,5‐diene cyclization/carbonyl‐ene reaction to form the natural product α‐ambrinol isolated in >65% yield.     

Enantioselective α‐Alkylation of Benzylideneamino tert‐Butyl Malonates by Phase‐Transfer Catalysis

A new enantioselective synthetic method for the synthesis of α,α‐dialkylmalonates with a quaternary carbon center was developed via α‐alkylation of prochiral malonates by phase‐transfer catalysis (PTC). Asymmetric α‐alkylation of benzylideneamino tert‐butyl α‐methylmalonates under phase‐transfer catalytic conditions in the presence of (S,S)‐3,4,5‐trifluorophenyl‐NAS bromide afforded the corresponding α,α‐dialkylmalonates in high yields (up to 97%) with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee). The products were then selectively hydrolyzed to chiral malonic monoacids under basic, acidic, or catalytic hydrogenation conditions.

     

Enantioselective Hydrogenation of α‐Dehydroamino Acid Esters Catalyzed by Rhodium Complexes with Chiral Bisaminophosphine Ligands

A highly efficient strategy for the synthesis of a series of chiral bisaminophosphine ligands was well established with several remarkable features. The synthetic utility of these ligands was explored for rhodium‐catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenations of α‐dehydroamino acid esters. Up to 98% ee values were achieved for the enantioselective synthesis of aminocarboxylic acids and their derivatives, which are very important chiral building blocks for the synthesis of a variety of natural products and biologically active molecules.     

Catalytic Hydrogenation of α‐Iminophosphonates as a Method for the Synthesis of Racemic and Optically Active α‐Aminophosphonates

It was shown that the catalytic hydrogenation of α‐iminophosphonates by molecular hydrogen can serve as a convenient method for the synthesis of racemic and optically active α‐aminophosphonates. Up to 94% ee was achieved in the rhodium‐catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation using chiral ligand (R)‐BINAP.     

Titanium‐Mediated Direct Carbon‐Carbon Double Bond Formation to α‐Trifluoromethyl Acids: A New Contribution to the Knoevenagel Reaction and a High‐Yielding and Stereoselective Synthesis of α‐Trifluoromethylacrylic Acids

An efficient strategy for a high‐yielding and stereoselective synthesis of α‐trifluoromethyl unsaturated carboxylic acids directly from the reactions of 3,3,3‐trifluoropropanoic acid (CF₃CH₂COOH) with various aryl aldehydes in the presence of titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄) is reported here for the first time, which is a valuable expansion for the classical Knoevenagel reaction. Because these compounds may have potential applications in organic electronics and can be easily converted to the corresponding fluorinated alcohols and amino acids with excellent bioactivity, this route should be a good choice for the preparation of α‐trifluoromethyl‐containing derivatives.     

Regio‐ and Enantioselective Copper‐Catalyzed 1,4‐Conjugate Addition of Trimethylaluminium to Linear α,β,γ,δ‐Unsaturated Alkyl Ketones

A regio‐ and enantioselective copper‐catalyzed 1,4‐conjugate addition of trimethylaluminium to linear δ‐aryl‐substituted α,β,γ,δ‐unsaturated alkyl ketones was developed. A series of γ,δ‐unsaturated alkyl ketones were obtained in good yields with high regio‐ and enantioselectivity (up to 88% ee and 96:4 dr). Expansion of the reaction scope to substrates containing aromatic heterocycles also afforded good yields and enantioselectivities (up to 91% ee) with very high regioselectivities, exclusively providing the single 1,4‐products.

     

A Simple Organocatalytic Enantioselective Cyclopropanation of α,β‐Unsaturated Aldehydes

A highly chemo‐ and enantioselective organocatalytic cyclopropanation of α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes with bromomalonate and 2‐bromoacetoacetate esters is presented. The reaction is catalyzed by chiral amines and gives access to 2‐formylcyclopropanes in high yields and up to 99 % ee.     

Bis(3,5‐dimethylphenyl)‐(S)‐pyrrolidin‐2‐ylmethanol: an Improved Organocatalyst for the Asymmetric Epoxidation of α,β‐Enones

The asymmetric epoxidation of α,β‐enones by the readily available bis(3,5‐dimethylphenyl)‐(S)‐pyrrolidin‐2‐ylmethanol and tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) is described. Stereoelectronic substitution on the aryl moiety of diaryl‐2‐pyrrolidinemethanols was found to significantly affect the efficiency with respect to the previously reported (S)‐diphenyl‐2‐pyrrolidinemethanol. Improved reactivity and enantioselectivity were achieved with bis(3,5‐dimethylphenyl)‐(S)‐pyrrolidin‐2‐ylmethanol at reduced catalyst loading (20 mol %) with ees up to 94% for chalcone epoxides under mild reaction conditions, whereas (S)‐diphenyl‐2‐pyrrolidinemethanol afforded a maximum ee of 80%. Interestingly, the methodology is applicable to the epoxidation of more challenging aliphatic or enolizable enones with good control of the asymmetric induction (up to 87% ee).     

Enantioselective Organocatalytic Conjugate Addition of Aldehydes to α,β‐Unsaturated Thiol Esters

The first example of an organocatalytic asymmetric Michael addition of aldehydes to α,β‐unsaturated thiol esters promoted by chiral diphenylprolinol silyl ether is presented. The reaction occurs with good yields, diastereoselectivity and excellent enantioselectivity.     

Organocatalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Protected α,β‐Diamino Acids

In the presence of the readily available quinine‐derived catalyst 4d , highly diastereo‐ and enantioselective Mannich reactions of tosyl‐protected imines and α‐isothiocyanato imides proceeded to afford the protected α,β‐diamino acids, useful building blocks for natural products and biologically active compounds, in good to excellent yields.     

Efficient Synthesis of β,γ‐Alkynyl α‐Amino Acid Derivatives by Ag(I)‐Catalyzed Alkynylation of α‐Imino Esters

The first catalytic synthesis of β,γ‐alkynyl α‐amino acid derivatives was achieved by direct addition of terminal alkynes to α‐imino esters in the presence of an Ag(I) salt under mild reaction conditions.     

Palladium(II)‐Catalyzed Aerobic Intermolecular Cyclization of Acrylic Acid with Alkenes to α‐Methylene‐γ‐butyrolactones

The methodology in this article is a palladium(II)/copper(II)‐ or palladium(II)‐catalyzed intermolecular cyclization of acrylic acid with alkenes to produce α‐methylene‐γ‐butyrolactone derivatives using molecular oxygen as an environmentally benign oxidant. In this system, the carboxylato, especially trifluoroacetato, or trimethylacetato ligand, plays a quite important role to afford a high catalytic activity by suppressing the deposition of palladium(0) black.     

Enantioselective N‐Heterocyclic Carbene‐Catalyzed [3+3] Annulation of α,β‐Unsaturated Esters with Methyl Ketoimine

Herein, we disclose the N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC)‐catalyzed [3+3] annulation of challenging esters with methyl ketoimines for the highly enantioselective synthesis of intriguing δ‐lactams featuring various substituent patterns. The annulation occurs under mild conditions and offers good tolerance, good yields and excellent enantioselectivities. The six‐membered heterocyclic products are valuable for the synthesis of bioactive molecules.

     

Access to Both Enantiomers of α‐Chloro‐β‐keto Esters with a Single Chiral Ligand: Highly Efficient Enantioselective Chlorination of Cyclic β‐Keto Esters Catalyzed by Chiral Copper(II) and Zinc(II) Complexes of a Spiro‐2,2′‐bischroman‐Based Bisoxazoline Ligand

The spiro‐2,2′‐bichroman‐based chiral bisoxazoline ligands (SPANbox) were found to be highly efficient in copper(II)‐ and zinc(II)‐catalyzed asymmetric chlorinations of cyclic β‐keto esters with N‐chlorosuccinimide (NCS) as the chlorination reagent, to give the corresponding α‐chloro‐β‐keto esters in excellent yields in 5–30 min with ee values up to 97%. The copper(II) triflate and zinc(II) triflate complexes of a single SPANbox ligand demonstrated complementary results to each other with respect to the enantioselection, affording both antipodes of the chlorinated product enantiomers with good to excellent optical purities.     

Practical Enantioselective Synthesis of β‐Lactones Catalyzed by Aluminum Bissulfonamide Complexes

The development of an efficient and practical aluminum‐bissulfonamide complex catalyzed enantioselective formation of β‐lactones by [2+2] cycloaddition of ketene (generated in situ from acetyl bromide by dehydrobromination) with various α‐unbranched and ‐branched aliphatic aldehydes is presented. The methodology offers the advantage of operational simplicity not only as the ligand synthesis requires just a single sulfonylation step from commercially available enantiomerically pure diamines. The products are formed in high to excellent yields with ee values typically ranging from 78 to 90 % using 10 mol % of the bissulfonamide ligand. The key finding of this work was a remarkable rate acceleration by using an aluminum/ligand ratio of 1.5:1.     

Enantioselective Synthesis of cis‐4‐Formyl‐β‐lactams via Chiral N‐Heterocyclic Carbene‐Catalyzed Kinetic Resolution

An efficient synthesis of optically pure cis‐4‐formyl‐β‐lactams (up to 99% ee) by a chiral NHC‐catalyzed ring expansion reaction has been realized, featuring the ready availability of both the substrate and the catalyst, and the mild reaction conditions. The current method is also suitable for the synthesis of enantioenriched 4‐formyl‐β‐lactams and succinimides containing quaternary carbon centers.     

Highly Enantioselective Phase‐Transfer Catalytic α‐Alkylation of α‐tert‐Butoxycarbonyllactams: Construction of β‐Quaternary Chiral Pyrrolidine and Piperidine Systems

A new enantioselective α‐alkylation of α‐tert‐butoxycarbonyllactams for the construction of β‐quaternary chiral pyrrolidine and piperidine core systems is reported. α‐Alkylations of N‐methyl‐α‐tert‐butoxycarbonylbutyrolactam and N‐diphenylmethyl‐α‐tert‐butoxycarbonylvalerolactam under phase‐transfer catalytic conditions (solid potassium hydroxide, toluene, −40 °C) in the presence of (S,S)‐3,4,5‐trifluorophenyl‐3,3′,5,5′‐tetrahydro‐2,6‐bis(3,4,5‐trifluorophenyl)‐4,4′‐spirobi[4H‐dinaphth[2,1‐c:1′,2′‐e]azepinium] bromide [(S,S)‐NAS Br] (5 mol%) afforded the corresponding α‐alkyl‐α‐tert‐butoxycarbonyllactams in very high chemical (up to 99%) and optical yields (up to 98% ee). Our new catalytic systems provide attractive synthetic methods for pyrrolidine‐ and piperidine‐based alkaloids and chiral intermediates with β‐quaternary carbon centers.     

Chiral Bioinspired Non‐Heme Iron Complexes for Enantioselective Epoxidation of α,β‐Unsaturated Ketones

Chiral bioinspired iron complexes of N₄ ligands based on the ethylenediamine backbone display remarkable levels of enantioselectivity for the first time in the asymmetric epoxidation of α,β‐unsaturated ketones using hydrogen peroxide (up to 87% ee) or peracetic acid as oxidant, respectively. Notablely, isotopic labeling with H₂¹⁸O strongly demonstrated that there is a reversible water binding step prior to generation of the significant intermediate. Besides, the complex [L₂Fe(III)₂(μ‐O)(μ‐CH₃CO₂)]³⁺ usually derived from the decay of the LFe(IV)O species or thermodynamic sinks for a number of iron complexes was identified by HR‐MS. In addition, the possible mechanisms were proposed and LFe(V)O species may be the main active intermediate in the catalytic system.