Chiral 2-(2-hydroxyaryl)alcohols (HAROLs) with a 1,4-diol scaffold as a new family of ligands and organocatalysts

Efficient and modular syntheses of chiral 2-(2-hydroxyaryl)alcohols (HAROLs), novel 1,4-diols carrying one phenolic and one alcohol hydroxyl group, have been developed which led to generation of a small library of structurally diverse HAROLs in enantiomerically pure form. Of the different HAROLs examined, a HAROL based on the indan backbone exhibited the highest activity and enantioselectivity in the 1,2-addition of certain organometallic compounds to aldehydes in the presence of Ti(OⁱPr)₄ (up to 97% y, 88% ee) and performed as a hydrogen-bond donor organocatalyst in the Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction, promoted by trialkylphosphines.     

Vasicine as tridentate ligand for enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes

The first report of natural l-vasicine as tridentate chiral ligand for the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to a variety of aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes is described. The ligand generates R-isomer of the secondary alcohols upto 98% ee. The quinazoline structure possibly imparts rigidity to the ligand and hence, consistently high enantioselectivity. The importance of the quinazoline ring was also supported by the reaction with other related ligands, partially lacking the structural features, thus resulting in poor enantioselectivity.     

The first catalytic asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehyde promoted by chiral thiourea

A series of C₂-symmetric and asymmetric chiral thiourea derivatives were synthesized from commercial L-phenylalanine.All of the new compounds have been fully characterized by IR,¹H NMR,¹³C NMR,MS spectra and elemental analyses.The chiral thioureas were used as chiral ligands in the catalytic enantioselective ethylation of aldehydes with diethylzinc,the corresponding sec-alcohols were gained with excellent enantioselectivities（up to 87.1%ee） and high yields（up to 76.7%） after the conditions were optimized.     

Assembly of ethylzincate compounds into supramolecular structures

Sodium and potassium triethylzincate were isolated by Wanklyn in 1858, and are corner stones in the history of organometallic chemistry. Crystallisation of organozincates from neat dialkylzinc, in the absence of a coordinating solvent, can be expected to result in assembly of supramolecular structures, rather than formation of discrete molecules in the crystalline state. This inspired us to reinvestigate Wanklyn’s classical compounds. Crystallisation of sodium triethylzincate from benzene led to metallation of benzene and the formation of diethylphenylzincate anions. The compound is a two-dimensional network where Na⁺ ions link the zincate anions by coordination to both ethyl- and phenyl groups. We have also, accidently, isolated crystals of the two-dimensional coordination network [K₂(ZnEt₂)₄O]_n, displaying a rare oxo-centred core with an octahedral oxide ion surrounded by four zinc atoms and two potassium atoms.     

Titanium (IV) as an essential promoter in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes catalyzed by aminonaphthol and imine ligands based on 3-substituted binaphthol

By using indirect reductive amination and condensation, two types of aminonaphthol and imine ligands based on 3-substituted binaphthol have been synthesized, respectively. When their catalytic effectiveness was tested by the ethylation of aldehydes with diethylzinc, titanium tetraisopropoxide was found essential to get good results with ee up to 90%.     

The synthesis of silica-supported chiral BINOL: Application in Ti-catalyzed asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes

Chiral BINOL was covalently anchored on two different pore sized mesoporous silica (SBA-15 (7.5 nm) and MCF (14 nm)). These heterogenized ligands were used in Ti-catalyzed asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. High catalytic activity with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 94% ee) for secondary alcohols was achieved using MCF supported chiral BINOL under heterogeneous reaction conditions. Good to excellent enantioselectivity (ee, 68–91%) was also achieved with various small to bulkier aldehydes. The MCF supported catalyst was reused in multiple catalytic runs without loss of enantioselectivity.     

二氧化碳同环氧丙烷交替共聚用催化剂的研究

探讨了有机金属催化剂的组成及其对二氧化碳同环氧丙烷交替共聚产物结构的影响,发现二乙基锌—助剂体系的催化活性按如次顺序递降:二乙基锌—连苯三酚>二乙基锌—间苯二酚>二乙基锌—对苯二胺>二乙基锌—亚乙基脲。若用三异丁基铝代替二乙基锌同连苯三酚构成催化剂,则失去对二氧化碳同环氧丙烷交替共聚反应的活性同时,著者发现二乙基锌—二元芳胺催化体系与二乙基锌—二元酚催化体系的催化活性规律完全不同。     

Understanding the catalytic role of flexible chiral δ-amino alcohols: the 1-(2-aminoethyl)norbornan-2-ol model

An empiric first approach to the knowledge about the structural factors influencing the catalytic behavior of conformationally flexible δ-amino-alcohol-based ligands, for the enantioselective addition of dialkylzincs to prochiral carbonyl groups, has been applied using the 1-(2-aminoethyl)norbornan-2-ol moiety as the model chiral system, and the asymmetrically catalyzed addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde as the test reaction. For this purpose, a selected small library of seven norbornane-based chiral ligands, bearing well-defined structural variations to allow a comparative study, that is, variation of the relative configuration and steric hindrance at the C(2), C(3) and/or C(7) norbornane positions, has been synthesized and probed in the mentioned test reaction. The experimental results obtained have been rationalized empirically using diastereomeric Noyori-like transition states, demonstrating that the conformational flexibility of the δ-amino-alcohol ligands, contrary to the more studied and rigid β-amino-alcohols, plays a crucial role on the catalytic behavior of such ligands (stereochemical sense and degree of the stereodifferentiation in the asymmetric process), which makes such structural factors, important for the improved design of new related chiral catalysts. In this sense, a robust crude empirical model for the prediction of the catalytic behavior of such δ-amino-alcohol-based ligands is proposed.     

Bifunctional pyridyl alcohols with the bicyclo[3.3.0]octane scaffold in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes

Some new pyridyl alcohols with the cis-bicyclo[3.3.0]octane scaffold were synthesized and used as chiral ligands for the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. Ligands 4 were found to be far superior to the C₂-symmetric ligands 2 in terms of enantioselectivities. Quantitative yields and enantiomeric excesses of up to 92% were obtained when the ligand 4 was used. The carbonyl function in 4 proved to be beneficial for the high enantioselectivities in the addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. Conversion of the carbonyl group into oxime or oxime ether group led to a sort of more active ligands, which catalyzed the same reaction with rate acceleration.     

Synthesis of 2-chloro-1,1-difluoroallyl mesylates through novel rearrangement and CC bond formation by their Pd-catalyzed reaction with diethylzinc

Treatment of 2-chloro-3,3-difluoroprop-2-en-1-ol derivatives (2) with methanesulfonyl chloride in the presence of a base did not give the expected esters but 2-chloro-1,1-difluoroprop-2-enyl methanesulfonates (4) through a novel [3,3] sigmatropic rearrangement. Reaction of 4 with diethylzinc in the presence of tetrakis(triphenylphosphine) palladium gave 1-alkyl- or 1-aryl-2-chloro-3-fluoropenta-1,3-dienes in moderate to good yields through a CC bond formation followed by dehydrofluorination.