Dynamic Kinetic Resolution Approach for the Asymmetric Synthesis of Tetrahydrobenzodiazepines Using Transfer Hydrogenation by Chiral Phosphoric Acid

Asymmetric synthesis of tetrahydrobenzodiazepines was achieved by transfer hydrogenation of dihydrobenzodiazepines with benzothiazoline having a hydrogen‐bonding donor substituent by means of a newly synthesized chiral phosphoric acid. This method was applicable to various racemic dihydrobenzodiazepines to give the corresponding products in good yields with excellent diastereoselectivities and enantioselectivities taking advantage of the dynamic kinetic resolution. Furthermore, the effect of bulky substituent at 3,3′‐position on the catalyst and hydrogen‐bonding donor substituent on benzothiazoline was fully elucidated by the theoretical study.     

Transfer hydrogenation of imines with carboxyl-tailed benzothiazoline as readily removable hydrogen donor

A benzothiazoline bearing 4-carboxyphenyl group at 2-position was developed as an efficient hydrogen donor for the transfer hydrogenation reaction. Introduction of the carboxyl group significantly facilitated the removal of the residual benzothiazoline and benzothiazole by washing with aqueous basic solution. The present approach provides a convenient and straightforward access to various amines with broad substrate scope and in good yields.     

Diastereo‐ and Enantioselective Hydrogenation of α‐Amino‐β‐Keto Ester Hydrochlorides Catalyzed by an Iridium Complex with MeO‐BIPHEP and NaBArF: Catalytic Cycle and Five‐Membered Chelation Mechanism of Asymmetric Hydrogenation

The development of Ir‐catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of α‐amino‐β‐keto ester hydrochlorides is described. This reaction proceeds through a dynamic kinetic resolution to produce anti‐β‐hydroxy‐α‐amino acid esters in a high diastereo‐ and enantioselective manner. Mechanistic studies have revealed that this unique asymmetric hydrogenation proceeds through reduction of the ketone moiety via the five‐membered transition state involving the chelation between the oxygen of the ketone and the nitrogen of the amine function. The relationship studies between the hydrogen pressure and the stereoselectivity have disclosed two mechanisms dependent on hydrogen pressure. Under low hydrogen pressure (<15 atm), the reaction rate proportionally increased with the hydrogen pressure. However, under the high hydrogen conditions, the reaction rate exponentially accelerated along with the increasing hydrogen pressure, which suggests the participation of two or more of hydrogen atoms.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic reductive amination of aliphatic ketones by benzothiazoline as hydrogen donor

The chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed enantioselective reductive amination of aliphatic ketones with aromatic amines was successfully achieved by the use of benzothiazoline as the hydrogen donor. Corresponding chiral aliphatic amines were obtained with excellent enantioselectivities.     

Organocatalytic transfer hydrogenation of cyclic enones

The first enantioselective organocatalytic transfer hydrogenation of cyclic enones has been accomplished. The use of iminium catalysis has provided a new organocatalytic strategy for the enantioselective reduction of beta,beta-substituted alpha,beta-unsaturated cycloalkenones, to generate beta-stereogenic cyclic ketones. The use of imidazolidinone 4 as the asymmetric catalyst has been found to mediate the hydrogenation of a large class of enone substrates with tert-butyl Hantzsch ester serving as an inexpensive source of hydrogen. The capacity of catalyst 4 to enable enantioselective transfer hydrogenation of cycloalkenones has been extended to five-, six-, and seven-membered ring systems. The sense of asymmetric induction is in complete accord with the stereochemical model first reported in conjunction with the use of catalyst 4 for enantioselective ketone Diels-Alder reactions.     

Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation using amino acid derivatives; further studies and a mechanistic proposal

A series of investigations into the use of amino acid derivatives for the asymmetric catalysis of the transfer hydrogenation of ketones are presented. Based on the results observed, a mechanistic suggestion for the origin of the enantioselective induction is proposed.     

Organocatalytic Asymmetric Arylative Dearomatization of 2,3‐Disubstituted Indoles Enabled by Tandem Reactions

The organocatalytic asymmetric arylative dearomatization of indoles was achieved through two tandem approaches involving 2,3‐disubstituted indoles and quinone imine ketals. One approach utilized the enantioselective cascade 1,4 addition/alcohol elimination reaction, the other employed the one‐pot tandem arylative dearomatization/transfer hydrogenation sequence. In both cases, enantiomerically pure indole derivatives that bear an all‐carbon quaternary stereogenic center were generated in high yields and excellent stereoselectivities (all d.r.>95:5, up to 99 % ee).     

A novel asymmetric heterogeneous catalytic reaction: hydrogenation of ethyl 2-acetoxyacrylate on cinchonidine modified Pd and Pt catalyst

Summary The transformations of a-ICN and b-ICN were studied in the presence of hydrogen in AcOH over Pt-alumina catalyst under the conditions of the enantioselective hydrogenation of EtPy (hydrogen pressure 1-30 bar, temperature 298-323 K). It was established that the quinoline skeleton of the alkaloids is hydrogenated even under mild experimental conditions, whereas hydrogenolysis of the oxazacycloalkane structure only takes place at hydrogen pressures exceeding 1 bar. ESI-MS-MS, HPLC-ESI-ion-trap MS and NMR made possible the identification of several hydrogenated cinchona alkaloid derivatives with so far unknown structures. According to these experimental results, the conformation of isocinchona alkaloids remains unchanged under the conditions of the enantioselective hydrogenation of activated ketones, making them suitable for utilization as chiral modifiers of well-defined conformation.     

Hydrogenation of α- and β-isocinchonines on Pt-alumina catalyst in acetic acid

Summary The transformations of a-ICN and b-ICN were studied in the presence of hydrogen in AcOH over Pt-alumina catalyst under the conditions of the enantioselective hydrogenation of EtPy (hydrogen pressure 1-30 bar, temperature 298-323 K). It was established that the quinoline skeleton of the alkaloids is hydrogenated even under mild experimental conditions, whereas hydrogenolysis of the oxazacycloalkane structure only takes place at hydrogen pressures exceeding 1 bar. ESI-MS-MS, HPLC-ESI-ion-trap MS and NMR made possible the identification of several hydrogenated cinchona alkaloid derivatives with so far unknown structures. According to these experimental results, the conformation of isocinchona alkaloids remains unchanged under the conditions of the enantioselective hydrogenation of activated ketones, making them suitable for utilization as chiral modifiers of well-defined conformation.     

Regio‐ and Enantioselective Cobalt‐Catalyzed Sequential Hydrosilylation/Hydrogenation of Terminal Alkynes

A highly regio‐ and enantioselective cobalt‐catalyzed sequential hydrosilylation/hydrogenation of alkynes was developed to afford chiral silanes. This one‐pot method is operationally simple and atom economic. It makes use of relatively simple and readily available starting materials, namely alkynes, silanes, and hydrogen gas, to construct more valuable chiral silanes. Primary mechanistic studies demonstrated that highly regioselective hydrosilylation of alkynes with silanes occurred as a first step, and the subsequent cobalt‐catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of the resulting vinylsilanes showed good enantioselectivity.     

Gram‐Scale Enantioselective Formal Synthesis of Morphine through an ortho–para Oxidative Phenolic Coupling Strategy

A gram‐scale catalytic enantioselective formal synthesis of morphine is described. The key steps of the synthesis involve an ortho–para oxidative phenolic coupling and a highly diastereoselective “desymmetrization” of the resulting cyclohexadienone that generates three of the four morphinan ring junction stereocenters in one step. The stereochemistry is controlled from a single carbinol center installed through catalytic enantioselective hydrogenation. These transformations enabled the preparation of large quantities of key intermediates and could support a practical and scalable synthesis of morphine and related derivatives.     

Nickel‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of Olefins for the Synthesis of α‐ and β‐Amino Acids

The field of asymmetric (transfer) hydrogenation of prochiral olefins has been dominated by noble metal catalysts based on rhodium, ruthenium, and iridium. Herein we report that a simple nickel catalyst is highly active in the transfer hydrogenation using formic acid. Chiral α‐ and β‐amino acid derivatives were obtained in good to excellent enantioselectivity. The key toward success was the use of the strongly donating and sterically demanding bisphosphine Binapine.     

Utilizing an o‐Quinone Methide in Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation: Enantioselective Synthesis of Brosimine A,Brosimine B,and Brosimacutin L

A concise and highly enantioselective synthesis of the flavonoids brosimine A, brosimine B, and brosimacutin L is reported for the first time. The key transformation is a single‐step conversion of a flavanone into a flavan by means of an asymmetric transfer hydrogenation/deoxygenation cascade.     

Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (−)‐Terengganensine A

A seven‐step enantioselective total synthesis of (?)‐terengganensine A, a complex heptacyclic monoterpene indole alkaloid, was accomplished. Key steps included: a) Noyori's catalytic enantioselective transfer hydrogenation of the iminium salt to set up the absolute configuration at the C21 position; b) a highly diastereoselective C7 benzoyloxylation with dibenzoyl peroxide under mild conditions; and c) an integrated one‐pot oxidative cleavage of cyclopentene/triple cyclization/hydrolysis sequence for the construction of the dioxa azaadamantane motif with complete control of four newly generated stereocenters.     

Diastereo‐ and Enantioselective Iridium Catalyzed Carbonyl (α‐Cyclopropyl)allylation via Transfer Hydrogenation

The first examples of diastereo‐ and enantioselective carbonyl α‐(cyclopropyl)allylation are reported. Under the conditions of iridium catalyzed transfer hydrogenation using the chiral precatalyst (R)‐Ir‐ I modified by SEGPHOS, carbonyl α‐(cyclopropyl)allylation may be achieved with equal facility from alcohol or aldehyde oxidation levels. This methodology provides a conduit to hitherto inaccessible inaccessible enantiomerically enriched cyclopropane‐containing architectures.     

Synthesis of Enantioenriched 5,6‐Dihydrophenanthridine Derivatives through retro‐Carbopalladation of Chiral o‐Bromobenzylamines

Retro‐carbopalladation of aldimines in the presence of a suitable β‐hydrogen atom has been observed in the Pd‐catalyzed homocoupling reactions of o‐bromobenzylamines, providing an expeditious synthetic route to 5,6‐dihydrophenanthridine derivatives. Furthermore, a highly enantioselective synthesis of 6‐aryl‐substituted 5,6‐dihydrophenanthridines was achieved in a one‐pot manner by taking advantage of Rh and Pd catalysis.     

多相不对称催化氢化研究进展*

本文综述了多相不对称催化氢化反应的最新研究进展.特别是对最近几年来两个典型的多相不对称催化氢化体系即酒石酸盐修饰镍催化剂催化β-酮酸酯的不对称氢化反应体系和金鸡纳生物碱修饰铂催化剂催化α-酮酸酯的不对称氢化反应体系进行了详细的介绍和讨论,同时展望了多相不对称催化氢化反应研究的前景.     

Hydrogen‐Transfer‐Mediated α‐Functionalization of 1,8‐Naphthyridines by a Strategy Overcoming the Over‐Hydrogenation Barrier

A general catalytic hydrogen transfer‐mediated α‐functionalization of 1,8‐naphthyridines is reported for the first time that benefits from a hydrogen transfer‐mediated activation mode for non‐activated pyridyl cores. The pyridyl α‐site selectively couples with the C8‐site of various tetrahydroquinolines (THQs) to afford novel α‐functionalized tetrahydro 1,8‐naphthyridines, a class of synthetically useful building blocks and potential candidates for the discovery of therapeutic and bio‐active products. The utilization of THQs as inactive hydrogen donors (HDs) appears to be a key strategy to overcome the over‐hydrogenation barrier and address the chemoselectivity issue. The developed chemistry features operational simplicity, readily available catalyst and good functional group tolerance, and offers a significant basis for further development of new protocols to directly transform or functionalize inert N‐heterocycles.     

Bioinduced Room‐Temperature Methanol Reforming

Imitating nature′s approach in nucleophile‐activated formaldehyde dehydrogenation, air‐stable ruthenium complexes proved to be exquisite catalysts for the dehydrogenation of formaldehyde hydrate as well as for the transfer hydrogenation to unsaturated organic substrates at loadings as low as 0.5 mol %. Concatenation of the chemical hydrogen‐fixation route with an oxidase‐mediated activation of methanol gives an artificial methylotrophic in vitro metabolism providing methanol‐derived reduction equivalents for synthetic hydrogenation purposes. Moreover, for the first time methanol reforming at room temperature was achieved on the basis of this bioinduced dehydrogenation path delivering hydrogen gas from aqueous methanol.