Catalytic and highly enantioselective reactions of alpha-sulfonyl carbanions with chiral bis(oxazoline)s

The enantioselective reactions of lithiated benzyl trifluoromethyl sulfones with a substoichiometric amount of a bis(oxazoline) and various aldehydes is disclosed. The products were formed with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities. Fluorination of the sulfone with N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide and a stoichiometric amount of a bis(oxazoline) gave products with extremely high enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee; ee=enantiomeric excess). The enantioselective reaction was confirmed to proceed through a dynamic thermodynamic resolution pathway.     

Rhodium‐Catalyzed Highly Regio‐ and Enantioselective Hydrogenation of Tetrasubstituted Allenyl Sulfones: An Efficient Access to Chiral Allylic Sulfones

A highly regio‐ and enantioselective hydrogenation of challenging tetrasubstituted allenyl sulfones has been developed, affording chiral allylic sulfones in good yields with excellent regio‐ and enantioselectivities (up to 99 % yield and 99 % ee). This method provides an efficient and concise route to chiral allylic sulfones, thus offering an atom‐economic process with a wide range of potential applications in organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry.     

Enantioselective conjugate addition of both aromatic ketones and acetone to nitroolefins catalyzed by chiral primary amines bearing multiple hydrogen-bonding donors

A new class of chiral primary amine catalysts bearing multiple hydrogen-bonding donors have been designed and synthesized. The newly developed bifunctional organocatalysts efficiently catalyzed not only enantioselective conjugate addition of aromatic ketones to nitroolefins in good yields (up to 87%) with excellent enantioselectivities (97→99% ee) but also enantioselective conjugate addition of acetone to nitroolefins in excellent yields (90-96%) with high enantioselectivities (up to 97% ee).     

Highly enantioselective nitro-Mannich reaction catalyzed by cinchona alkaloids and N-benzotriazole derived ammonium salts

The catalytic enantio- and diastereoselective nitro-Mannich reaction of α-amido sulfones in the mixed solvent of toluene/H(2)O has been realized using a phase-transfer catalyst (PTC) derived from cinchona alkaloids and N-benzotriazole. It performed well over a wide range of substrates to give the desired products in good yields (up to 94%) with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) and diastereoselectivities (up to 99:1).     

Enantioselective intramolecular Rauhut-Currier reaction catalyzed by chiral phosphinothiourea

Chiral organophosphine-catalyzed enantioselective Rauhut-Currier reaction has been disclosed for the first time. With L-valine-derived phosphinothiourea, the intramolecular Rauhut-Currier reaction of bis(enones) was achieved in good yields (up to 99%) with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99.4% ee).     

Catalytic enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction via a chiral indium(III) complex

[reaction: see text] A chiral indium complex has been developed to effect high enantioselectivities in catalyzing enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction. The cycloaddition of a variety of cyclic and open-chained dienes to 2-methacrolein and 2-bromoacrolein resulted in good yields and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee).     

Novel thiolated amino-alcohols as chiral ligands for copper-catalyzed asymmetric nitro-aldol reactions

Thiolated amino-alcohols have been synthesized and evaluated as a potential new class of chiral ligands for copper-catalyzed nitro-aldol reactions. The model nitro-aldol reaction took place smoothly at ambient temperature in the presence of catalytic amounts (5-15 mol %) of the ligands and copper(II) acetate to afford the nitro-aldol product in good to excellent yield without accompanying dehydration. Amino-alcohol ligands bearing N-(2-alkylthio)benzyl substituents provided only modest enantioselectivities (22-46% ee) while those carrying N-2-thienylmethyl substituents provided better enantioselectivities (up to 75% ee). A range of aromatic aldehydes were acceptable for the nitro-aldol reaction with nitromethane, giving moderate to good enantioselectivities (69-88% ee).     

Novel chiral thioureas for highly enantioselective Michael reactions of malonates to nitroalkenes

Highly efficient Michael addition reactions of malonates to nitroalkenes catalyzed by novel chiral thioureas derived from optically pure BINOL and amino acids are reported. Various trans-nitroalkenes reacted with malonates affording the desired products in up to 95% yield with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 97% ee).     

Enantioselective hydrosilylation of ketimines with trichlorosilane promoted by chiral N-picolinoylaminoalcohols

Enantioselective hydrosilylation of N-aryl and N-benzyl ketimines with trichlorosilane catalyzed by readily accessible chiral N-picolinoylaminoalcohols proceeded smoothly furnishing chiral secondary amines in good yields (up to 93%) and moderate to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 95% ee).     

A chiral thioureido acid as an effective additive for enantioselective organocatalytic Michael additions of nitroolefins

A novel and effective organocatalytic system consisting of pyrrolidinyl-thioimidazole and a chiral thioureido acid efficiently catalyzed the asymmetric Michael addition reactions of ketones to nitroolefins to afford the adducts with high diastereoselectivities (up to 99 : 1) and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee).     

Highly regioselective palladium-catalyzed methoxycarbonylation of styrene using chiral ferrocene- and biphosphole-based ligands

The methoxycarbonylation of styrene has been studied using Pd(OAc)₂/L/acid catalytic systems with L being chiral ferrocene- and biphosphole-based ligands. Good activities are obtained in mild conditions. Chemoselectivities and regioselectivities (up to 98% in favour of the branched isomer) are excellent but enantioselectivities remain moderate (ee up to 17%).     

Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of simple ketones with chiral ferrocenyl P,N,N-ligands

The Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of simple aromatic ketones with chiral ferrocenyl P,N,N-ligands has been developed. Under the optimized conditions, a wide range of ketones were hydrogenated to afford the corresponding chiral alcohols in good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98%?ee).     

Highly enantioselective carbonyl reduction with borane catalyzed by chiral spiroborate esters derived from chiral 1,2-aminoalcohols

Novel spiroborate esters derived from nonracemic 1,2-amino alcohols were examined as chiral catalysts in the borane reduction of acetophenone and other aromatic ketones at room temperature. The optically active alcohols were obtained in excellent chemical yields and enantioselectivities up to 99% ee with 10% of catalyst.     

Novel bifunctional chiral thiourea catalyzed highly enantioselective aza-Henry reaction

A novel bifunctional chiral thiourea organocatalyst bearing a glycosyl scaffold and a tertiary amino group was synthesized starting from readily available alpha-D-glucose. This thiourea was proven to be an effective organocatalyst for the asymmetric aza-Henry reaction between N-Boc imines and nitromethane. The corresponding adducts were obtained in good to excellent yields with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99.8% ee). In addition, the reaction of nitroethane also proceeded smoothly with excellent enantioselectivity, albeit with low to good diastereoselectivities.     

Selective activation of enantiotopic C(sp3)-hydrogen by means of chiral phosphoric acid: asymmetric synthesis of tetrahydroquinoline derivatives

Chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed asymmetric C-H functionalization has been achieved. In this process, enantiotopic C(sp(3))-hydrogen is selectively activated by chiral phosphoric acid to afford tetrahydroquinoline derivatives with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 97% ee).     

Formal cycloaddition of disubstituted ketenes with 2-oxoaldehydes catalyzed by chiral N-heterocyclic carbenes

Chiral N-hetereocyclic carbenes were found to be efficient catalysts for the formal [2 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of alkyl(aryl)ketenes with 2-oxoaldehydes to afford beta-lactones with alpha-quaternary-beta-tertiary stereocenters in high yields with good diastereoselectivities and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee). Both alkyl(aryl)ketenes and diarylketene worked well in this reaction.     

Catalytic enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction in ionic liquid via a recyclable chiral In(III) complex

[Structure: see text] A recyclable, air- and moisture-stable chiral indium complex in [hmim][PF6-] ionic liquid has been developed. The cycloaddition of a variety of cyclic and open-chained dienes to 2-methacrolein and 2-bromoacrolein resulted in good yields and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee). Moreover, the chiral In(III) complex can be reused for seven successive cycles with comparable enantioselectivities and yields without loss of catalytic activity.     

Highly enantioselective intermolecular carbene insertion to C-H and Si-H bonds catalyzed by a chiral iridium(III) complex of a D4-symmetric Halterman porphyrin ligand

The chiral iridium porphyrin [Ir((-)-D(4)-Por*)(Me)(EtOH)] displays excellent reactivity and stereoselectivity towards carbene insertion to C-H and Si-H bonds, affording corresponding products in high yields (up to 96%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee).     

Enantioselective zinc/BINOL-catalysed alkynylation of aldimines generated in situ from α-amido sulfones

Chiral nonracemic N-Cbz-protected propargylic amines have been prepared by the addition of terminal alkynes to imines generated in situ from α-amido sulfones in the presence of diethylzinc and BINOL-type ligands as catalysts. The reactions give good yields and high enantioselectivities (ee values up to 95?%) for a good number of aromatic and heteroaromatic α-amido sulfones and alkynes.     

Synthesis of novel BINOL-derived chiral bisphosphorus ligands and their application in catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation

Some novel ortho-substituted BINOL-derived bisphosphorous ligands (o-BINAPO and o-NAPHOS) were synthesis from readily available (S)-BINOL; these ligands showed excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) in Rh(I)-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of functionalized olefins.