Functionalized Periodic Mesoporous Organosilica: A Highly Enantioselective Catalyst for the Michael Addition of 1,3‐Dicarbonyl Compounds to Nitroalkenes

A functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica with incorporated chiral bis(cyclohexyldiamine)‐based Ni^II complexes within the silica framework was developed by the co‐condensation of (1R,2R)‐cyclohexyldiamine‐derived silane and ethylene‐bridge silane, followed by the complexation of NiBr₂ in the presence of (1R,2R)‐N,N′‐dibenzylcyclohexyldiamine. Structural characterization by XRD, nitrogen sorption, and TEM disclosed its orderly mesostructure, and FTIR and solid‐state NMR spectroscopy demonstrated the incorporation of well‐defined single‐site bis(cyclohexyldiamine)‐based Ni^II active centers within periodic mesoporous organosilica. As a chiral heterogeneous catalyst, this functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica showed high catalytic activity and excellent enantioselectivity in the asymmetric Michael addition of 1,3‐dicarbonyl compounds to nitroalkenes, comparable to those with homogeneous catalysts. In particular, this heterogeneous catalyst could be recovered easily and reused repeatedly up to nine times without obviously affecting its enantioselectivity, thus showing good potential for industrial applications.     

Synthesis of Tridentate Ligands Based on Chiral Diamines and Their Application to Enantioselective Friedel-Crafts Alkylation of Indoles with Nitroalkenes

A new type of chiral tridentate ligands were prepared and their Zn complexes were examined for the asymmetric Friedel‐Crafts alkylation of indoles with nitroalkenes, which gave rise to good yields and moderate enantioselectivities.     

An Imidazoline–Aminophenol (IAP) Nickel Catalyst: Structure and Catalytic Activity in the Enantioselective 1,4‐Addition of 3′‐Indolyl‐3‐Oxindoles to Nitroethylene

The structure of a nickel complex of imidazoline–aminophenol (IAP) prepared from IAP with Ni(OAc)₂ was elucidated as cis‐bis(imidazolineaminophenoxide) [Ni(IAP)₂]. The [Ni(IAP)₂] complex smoothly promoted catalytic asymmetric 1,4‐addition of 3′‐indolyl‐3‐oxindole to nitroethylene to provide chiral mixed 3,3′‐bisindoles with high enantioselectivities. Mechanistic studies using ESI‐MS analyses suggest that one IAP ligand dissociated from [Ni(IAP)₂] to generate the Ni–enolate of 3′‐indolyl‐3‐oxindole. From the optically active 3,3′‐mixed indole adduct, biologically important 3′‐indolyl‐3‐pyrrolidinoindoline was successfully synthesized in a three‐step reaction sequence.     

Synthesis of Chiral 1,4‐Benzodioxanes and Chromans by Enantioselective Palladium‐Catalyzed Alkene Aryloxyarylation Reactions

A highly enantioselective alkene aryloxyarylation led to the high‐yielding formation of a series of 1,4‐benzodioxanes, 1,4‐benzooxazines, and chromans containing quaternary stereocenters with excellent enantioselectivity. The sterically bulky and conformationally well defined chiral monophosphorus ligand L4 or L5 was responsible for the high reactivity and enantioselectivity of these transformations. The application of this method to the synthesis of the chiral chroman backbone of α‐tocopherol was demonstrated.     

Rhodium/Chiral Diene‐Catalyzed Asymmetric 1,4‐Addition of Arylboronic Acids to Chromones: A Highly Enantioselective Pathway for Accessing Chiral Flavanones

Chromone has been noted to be one of the most challenging substrates in the asymmetric 1,4‐addition of α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl compounds. By employing the rhodium complex associated with a chiral diene ligand, (R,R)‐Ph‐bod*, the 1,4‐addition of a variety of arylboronic acids was realized to give high yields of the corresponding flavanones with excellent enantioselectivities (≥97 % ee, 99 % ee for most substrates). Ring‐opening side products, which would lead to erosion of product enantioselectivity, were not observed under the stated reaction conditions.     

Enantioselective Addition of Diethylzinc to Benzaldehyde by Catalysts of Chiral Heterocyclic Ligands

TheenantioselectiveadditionofdiethylzincreagentstoprochiralcarbonylgrouphasbeenachievedprincipallybycatalyticalamountofchiralP-aminoalcoholswhichhaveproventobehighlyeffectivecatalysts'.Ahydroxylgrouphasbeenregardedtobenecessaryforthechiralligandtoformazincalkoxideasthecatalyticspecies'.Wewishtoreporthereinontheethylationofbenzaldehydewithdiethylzincpromotedbyseveralkindsofoxazolidineandthiazolidinederivativeswhichdonotcontainhydroxylgroup.Fourkindschiralheterocyclicligandsweusedarelistedasfoll…     

Copper‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Conjugate Addition with Chiral SimplePhos Ligands

SimplePhos ligands represent a novel class of monodentate chiral ligands based on a chiral amine moiety and flexible diaryl groups on the phosphorous atom. They can be easily prepared by two different pathways and they can be highly functionalised. Herein we report the copper‐catalysed asymmetric conjugate addition of diethyl zinc and trialkylaluminium reagents with SimplePhos ligands, which gives high enantioselectivity with cyclic enones, acyclic enones and nitro‐olefins, with up to 98.6 % ee. Of particular interest is the reaction of trialkylaluminium reagents with a wide range of 3‐substituted enones, thus allowing the formation of stereogenic quaternary carbon centres.     

Unprecedented Selectivity via Electronic Substrate Recognition in the 1,4‐Addition to Cyclic Olefins Using a Chiral Disulfoxide Rhodium Catalyst

From zero to hero? Sulfoxides are generally not considered useful ligand entities in asymmetric metal catalysis. However, a chiral disulfoxide as a chelating ligand in the rhodium‐catalyzed 1,4‐addition of aryl boronic acids to cyclic, α,β‐unsaturated ketones and esters gives impressive catalytic results, thus opening the door to future applications of this new chiral ligand class.

     

Catalytic Enantioselective Addition of Thioacids to Trisubstituted Nitroalkenes

The first example of a catalytic enantioselective addition to and nitronate protonation of trisubstituted nitroalkenes to produce highly enantioenriched products with a tetrasubstituted carbon is reported. Thioacids added in excellent yields and with high enantioselectivities to both activated and unactivated nitroalkenes. The 1,2‐nitrothioacetate products can be readily converted in two steps to biomedically relevant 1,2‐aminosulfonic acids without loss of enantiopurity.     

Asymmetric Decarboxylative 1,4‐Addition of Malonic Acid Half Thioesters to Vinyl Sulfones: Highly Enantioselective Synthesis of 3‐Monofluoromethyl‐3‐Arylpropanoic Esters

An asymmetric decarboxylative 1,4‐addition of malonic acid half thioesters (MAHTs) to 2‐aryl‐substituted vinyl sulfones has been developed, yielding adducts with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 97 % ee). In view of tuning pK_a values, a quinine‐based benzyl‐substituted thiourea was designed and demonstrated as the most efficient catalyst. The enantioselective synthesis of 3‐monofluorinated analogues of 3‐methyl indanone and (+)‐turmerone has been accomplished from decarboxylative 1,4‐addition adducts with satisfactory results.     

Modulation of Multifunctional N,O,P Ligands for Enantioselective Copper‐Catalyzed Conjugate Addition of Diethylzinc and Trapping of the Zinc Enolate

In this work, we have successfully synthesized a new family of chiral Schiff base–phosphine ligands derived from chiral binaphthol (BINOL) and chiral primary amine. The controllable synthesis of a novel hexadentate and tetradentate N,O,P ligand that contains both axial and sp³‐central chirality from axial BINOL and sp³‐central primary amine led to the establishment of an efficient multifunctional N,O,P ligand for copper‐catalyzed conjugate addition of an organozinc reagent. In the asymmetric conjugate reaction of organozinc reagents to enones, the polymer‐like bimetallic multinuclear Cu? Zn complex constructed in situ was found to be substrate‐selective and a highly excellent catalyst for diethylzinc reagents in terms of enantioselectivity (up to >99 % ee). More importantly, the chirality matching between different chiral sources, C₂‐axial binaphthol and sp³‐central chiral phosphine, was crucial to the enantioselective induction in this reaction. The experimental results indicated that our chiral ligand (R,S,S)‐ L1 ‐ and (R,S)‐ L4 ‐based bimetallic complex catalyst system exhibited the highest catalytic performance to date in terms of enantioselectivity and conversion even in the presence of 0.005 mol % of catalyst (S/C=20 000, turnover number (TON)=17 600). We also studied the tandem silylation or acylation of enantiomerically enriched zinc enolates that formed in situ from copper‐ L4 ‐complex‐catalyzed conjugate addition, which resulted in the high‐yield synthesis of chiral silyl enol ethers and enoacetates, respectively. Furthermore, the specialized structure of the present multifunctional N,O,P ligand L1 or L4 , and the corresponding mechanistic study of the copper catalyst system were investigated by ³¹P NMR spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD), and UV/Vis absorption.     

Nickel(II)‐Catalyzed Enantioselective 1,3‐Dipolar Cycloaddition of Azomethine Imines with Alkylidene Malonates

We demonstrated an asymmetric 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine betaines with alkylidene malonates by using a chiral N,N′‐dioxide–Ni^II complex as a catalyst. Both aromatic‐ and aliphatic‐substituted alkylidene malonates were found to be suitable for the reaction. A range of trans‐pyrazolone derivatives was exclusively obtained with excellent yields (up to 99 % yield) and good enantioselectivities (up to 97 % ee) under mild reaction conditions. The reaction could be carried out on a gram scale with the good results being maintained. Control experiments were performed to elucidate the specific diastereoselectivity of the reaction. The formation of single trans isomers was dominated by secondary orbital interactions between the ester groups of the dipolarophile and the azomethine imine. On the basis of the experimental results and previous reports, a possible catalytic model was assumed.     

Chiral Amino Acids‐Derived Catalysts and Ligands

Transforming amino acids into novel catalysts and ligands is a remarkable subset of new catalyst development in order to imitate enzymatic efficiencies. Their ability to perform a variety of asymmetric catalytic reactions is complimented by their ready availability, rich transformations, stability and easy procedure. Herein, we focused on describing our endeavor of developing new catalysts and ligands from primary and secondary amino acids. It includes C₂‐symmetric N,N'‐dioxides, guanidine‐amides, bispidine‐based diamines, and other organic salts. The account covered a brief introduction about their discovery, representative applications and related mechanisms.     

Aqueous‐mediated Michael Addition of Active Methylene Compounds with Nitroalkenes

A simple, atom economical and highly efficient green protocol has been developed for the synthesis of Michael adducts of nitroalkenes and 2‐amino‐2‐chromene derivatives by Michael addition of active methylene compounds (such as malononitrile and ethyl cyanoacetate) to nitroalkenes under aqueous‐mediated conditions. This green approach provided the desired products in high yields and the reaction scope proved to be quite broad.