Organocatalytic enantioselective Michael addition reactions of fluoromalonates with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes

A new organocatalytic enantioselective Michael addition of α-fluoromalonate to enals has been developed.The process is efficiently catalyzed by readily available chiral diphenylpyrolinol TES ether under mild reaction conditions to afford versatile highly enantioenriched fluorinated aldehydes.     

Chiral N-heterocyclic carbene catalyzed annulation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes with 1,3-dicarbonyls

Chiral N-heterocyclic carbene catalyzed annulations of ynals and enals with 1,3-dicarbonyls have been described. The two reactions provided direct and efficient methods for enantioselective synthesis of functionalized dihydropyranones. Comparatively, the reactions starting from ynals were atom-economical; furthermore the reactions of enals demonstrated broader substrate compatibility.     

Catalytic asymmetric Michael addition of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes to Ni(II) complexes of the Schiff base of glycine

The conjugate addition of Ni(II) complexes of glycine Schiff base to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes catalyzed by (S)-2-(diphenyl(trimethylsilyloxy)methyl)pyrrolidine afforded adducts in excellent yields with up to 49:1 dr and 95% ee. This method enables the construction of two adjacent chiral centers in one step, and offers an alternative route to chiral α-amino acid derivatives.     

Regioselective addition of thiophenol to α,β-unsaturated N-acylbenzotriazoles

Regioselective addition of thiophenol to α,β-unsaturated N-acylbenzotriazoles has been achieved by controlling the conditions. Thus, three types of products, namely α,β-unsaturated thioesters, β-thiophenoxy substituted N-acylbenzotriazoles, and β-thiophenoxy substituted thioesters were selectively obtained in good to excellent yields.     

Chiral squaramides catalyzed diastereo- and enantioselective Michael addition of α-substituted isocyanoacetates to N-aryl maleimides

An efficient diastereo- and enantioselective Michael addition of α-substituted isocyanoacetates to N-aryl maleimides catalyzed by quinine or cyclohexane-1,2-diamine derived squaramide catalysts has been disclosed, affording the corresponding adducts in good yields (up to 99%), high diastereoselectivities (up to >20:1 dr) and good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 94% ee) under mild conditions.     

Enantioselective Michael addition of 3(2H)-furanones to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes catalyzed by a diphenylprolinol silyl ether

Enantioselective Michael addition of simple 3(2H)-furanones to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes has been described. The protocol provides a simple and efficient access to complex 3(2H)-furanones containing adjacent quaternary and tertiary stereocenters in high yields with moderate diastereoselectivities and excellent enantioselectivities.     

Organocatalytic oxy-Michael addition of alcohols to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes

1,4-Addition of alcohols to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes was found to be efficiently promoted by biphenyldiamine-based catalyst 3 without formation of the acetals.     

N,N′-Dioxide-nickel(II) complex catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition of cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters

A direct asymmetric Michael addition of cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters could be efficiently catalyzed by an N,N′-dioxide-nickel(II) complex. A series of chiral warfarin derivatives were obtained in excellent yields (up to 99%) with high enantioselectivities (up to 90% ee) under mild conditions within shorter reaction time.     

Trialkyl borate assisted amination of fluorinated 1,3-diketones for synthesis of N,N′-1,2-phenylen-bis(β-aminoenones) and their Ni(II), Cu(II) and Pd(II) complexes

An effecient synthetic method for fluorinated tridentate β-aminoenones and tetradentate bis(β-aminoenones) via amination of fluorinated 1,3-diketones with o-phenylenediamine in the presence of trialkyl borates was developed. Ni(II), Cu(II) and Pd(II) complexes with tetradentate bis(β-aminoenones) were obtained. Their gaschromatographic behaviour and main fragmentation paths in the electron ionization mass spectra were described.     

Three-component reaction of N′-(2-alkynylbenzylidene)hydrazide, α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compound, with bromine

Different outcomes were generated under different conditions for the three-component reaction of N′-(2-alkynylbenzylidene)hydrazide, α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compound, with bromine. 6-BromoH-pyrazolo[5,1-a]isoquinoline was obtained when the reaction was performed in NMP at 70 °C in the presence of DABCO as base, while 6-bromo-1,2,3,10b-tetrahydropyrazolo[5,1-a]isoquinoline was afforded when the reaction occurred in DMAc at 10 °C in the presence of K₃PO₄ as the base.     

Asymmetric organocatalytic oxy-Michael addition of alcohols to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes

A 1,4-addition of alcohols to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes was found to be efficiently promoted by biphenyldiamine-based catalyst 3 without formation of the acetals. An asymmetric variant of this reaction has also been performed by designing a novel axially chiral organocatalyst (R)-10c.     

Chiral tertiary amine N-oxides in asymmetric epoxidation of α,β-unsaturated ketones

Chiral tertiary amine N-oxides have been shown to undergo stereoselective oxygen transfer reaction in the epoxidation of chalcone derivatives with modest to good enantioselectivity.     

Enantioselective allylation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes with allyltrichlorosilane catalyzed by METHOX

α,β-Unsaturated aldehydes 6a-j undergo an enantioselective allylation with allylic trichlorosilanes 2a,b in the presence of METHOX (4) as a Lewis basic catalyst (≤10 mol %) to produce the homoallylic alcohols 7a-l at good to high enantioselectivity (83-96% ee). This study shows that the reactivity scope of METHOX can be extended from aromatic to nonaromatic aldehydes.     

Trifluoroacetic anhydride—catalyzed conjugate addition of boronic acids to α,β-unsaturated ketones

The conjugate addition of boronic acids to α,β-unsaturated ketones catalyzed by acylating reagents has been explored. The results show that trifluoroacetic anhydride catalyzes the addition of vinylboronic acids under experimentally simple and metal-free conditions for a variety of substrates with good yields.     

Chiral Brønsted acid-catalyzed regio- and enantioselective arylation of α,β-unsaturated trifluoromethyl ketones

The interesting examples of chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed regio- and enantioselective arylation of α,β-unsaturated trifluoromethyl ketones were reported. The reaction proceeded well and the desired products were obtained in good yields (up to 99%) with moderate to good enantioselectivities (up to 88% ee). Several desired products were obtained with excellent optical purities after a single recrystallization. Subsequent reduction of enantiopure products with NaBH₄ afforded two diastereomers of chiral trifluoromethyl-substituted secondary alcohols with high enantioselectivities (98% ee).     

Catalytic enantioselective conjugate addition of indoles to simple α,β-unsaturated ketones

Chiral [Al(salen)Cl] complex (10 mol%) in the presence of 2,6-lutidine (10 mol%) was found to be effective in catalysing the enantioselective Friedel-Crafts-type conjugate addition of indoles (3) to (E)-arylcrotyl ketones (2), furnishing the corresponding β-indolyl ketones in excellent yield and high enantioselectivity (ee up to 89%).     

Coordination of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes on d Ru and Rh complexes: A DFT study

The coordination modes of various α,β-unsaturated aldehydes on d⁶ ML₄ and ML₅ complexes of rhodium and ruthenium have been compared by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The studied aldehydes were acrolein, crotonaldehyde, prenal and cinnamaldehyde and the metallic fragments RuH₂(PH₃)₂, RuH₂(PH₃)₃ and RhH₂Cl(PH₃)₂. On the d⁶ ML₄ Ru fragment, the best coordination geometry is η⁴, where both double bonds are involved. On the d⁶ ML₅ Ru fragment, the η²CC geometry is preferred to the η¹O and to the η²CO ones. Finally on the d⁶ ML₅ Rh fragment, the η²CO mode is not stable and only η¹O and η²CC exist, the former being favored. In conclusion, the η²CO coordination geometry is never favored even if the energy gap between η²CC and η²CO is reduced by the use of bulky ligands (PPh₃) or alkyl substituents on the CC bond. The Ru and Rh complexes behave differently: in the case of Ru, η²CC and η²CO can be in competition and in the case of Rh, the best form is η¹O. This different behavior can explain the results obtained in the hydrogenation reaction of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes.     

Highly enantioselective asymmetric hydrogenation of (E)-β,β-disubstituted α,β-unsaturated Weinreb amides catalyzed by Ir(I) complexes of SpinPhox ligands

The Ir(I) complexes of chiral spiro phosphino-oxazoline ligands (SpinPhox) have demonstrated good to excellent enantioselectivity in the asymmetric hydrogenation (AH) of a variety of (E)-β,β-disubstituted α,β-unsaturated N-methoxy-N-methylamides, affording the corresponding optically active Weinreb amides with up to 97% ee.