Enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction of Brassard’s diene with aldimines catalyzed by chiral N,N′-dioxide-Yb(OTf)3 complex

The chiral N,N′-dioxide-Yb(OTf)₃ complex-catalyzed enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction of Brassard’s diene with aldimines has been developed, giving the corresponding α,β-unsaturated δ-lactam derivatives in moderate yields with good enantioselectivities (up to 81% ee and up to 99% ee by single recrystallization) under mild conditions. Isolation of the reaction intermediate indicates that this asymmetric aza-Diels-Alder reaction proceeds through a stepwise Mannich-type pathway.     

New chiral scandium(III)/bisimine and diol complexes catalyzed asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction

Several bisimine and diol-based chiral ligands were examined as scandium(III) triflate complexes in the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene (2) with 3-acryloyloxazolidin-2-one (1) in the presence of 2,6-lutidine: the scandium/salen complex was revealed to be the most effective catalyst, which afforded the endo adduct in a good yield with 85% ee. Addition of a tertiary amine, such as 2,6-lutidine, was critical to achieve high enantioselectivity; enantioselectivity was remarkably decreased in the absence of the amine.     

Enantioselective allylation of ketones catalyzed by chiral In(III)-PYBOX complexes

In the presence of 20 mol% of chiral catalytic complex prepared from In(OTf)3 and chiral PYBOX, allyltributylstannane reacted with achiral ketones to afford the corresponding homoallylic alcohols in moderate to high enantioselectivities (54-95% ee), which constitutes the first example of enantioselective allylation of ketones catalyzed by the chiral In(III)-PYBOX complex.     

Enantioselective allylation of ketones catalyzed by N,N'-dioxide and indium(III) complex

Complexes of (S)-pipecolic acid-, L-proline-, and other amino acid-derived N,N'-dioxides coordinated with different metal ions have been investigated in the enantioselective allylation of ketones. A variety of aromatic ketones were found to be suitable substrates in the presence of the L1-In(III) complex, and afforded the corresponding homoallylic alcohols with good enantioselectivites (up to 83% ee) and moderate to high yields (up to 94%). On the basis of the experimental results, a possible catalytic cycle including a transition state has been proposed to explain the origin of the reactivity and asymmetric inductivity, and a bifunctional catalyst was described with Lewis base N-oxide activating tetraallyltin and Lewis acid indium activating ketone.     

Highly enantioselective Diels–Alder reaction of Danishefsky-type diene and electron-deficient olefins catalyzed by an Yb(III)/chiral bis-urea complex

The synthesis and utility of the novel axially chiral bis-urea ligand BINUREA are described. A complex of this urea ligand with ytterbium triflate and DBU can be used in the catalytic enantioselective Diels–Alder reaction of Danishefsky-type diene and electron-deficient olefins to give the adducts in good to excellent yield and enantiomeric excess (ee).     

Enantioselective intramolecular amidation of sulfamate esters catalyzed by chiral manganese(III) Schiff-base complexes

Enantioselective intramolecular amidation of sulfamate esters catalyzed by chiral manganese(III) Schiff-base complexes under mild conditions (PhI(OAc)₂, Al₂O₃, C₆H₆, 5 °C) was achieved in moderate to good yields (up to 92%), substrate conversions (up to 99%), with virtually complete cis-selectivity and with ee values up to 79% ee.     

Enantioselective allylation of aldehydes catalyzed by chiral indium(III) complexes immobilized in ionic liquids

In the presence of chiral catalytic complexes prepared from In(OTf)3 and chiral PYBOX ligands, allytributylstannane reacted with aldehydes in ionic liquids to afford the corresponding homoallylic alcohols in high enantioselectivities (86-94% ee) and good yields (68-89%); the chiral catalysts immobilized in ionic liquids could be reused with comparable enantioselectivities and yields.     

Enantioselective Baeyer-Villiger oxidation catalyzed by palladium(II) complexes with chiral P,N-ligands

Asymmetric Baeyer-Villiger reaction of symmetrical cyclobutanones 1a-j with urea-hydrogen peroxide (UHP) can be catalyzed by a complex of Pd(II) and the new terpene-derived P, N-ligand 7. The resulting lactones 2a-j were obtained in high yields and with good enantioselectivity (< or =81% ee).     

Enantioselective pinacol coupling reaction of aromatic aldehydes catalyzed by chiral vanadium complexes

The asymmetric pinacol coupling of aromatic aldehydes by chiral salan–vanadium complexes as effective catalysts is reported. Chiral 1,2-diols were obtained with high diastereoselectivities (up to 90/10) and moderate to high enantioselectivities (up to 82% ee). The possible mechanism of the pinacol coupling reaction is also discussed.     

Enantioselective epoxidation of olefins catalyzed by two novel chiral poly-salen–Mn(III) complexes

Two novel chiral poly-salen–Mn(III) complexes 1 and 2, derived from (R,R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane and the disalicylaldehydes 5 and 6 were synthesized and employed in the enantioselective epoxidation of olefins. A range of 30–92% ee and 75–97% yield was achieved in NaClO/4-PPNO and m-CPBA/NMO oxidant systems when substituted styrenes and substituted 2,2-dimethylchromenes were used as substrates. Furthermore, the poly-salen–Mn(III) complexes could be recovered easily and recycled efficiently several times by a simple catalysis/separation method. After five reactions, an 82% ee and 78% yield of epoxide were obtained using 2,2-dimethylchromene as substrate.     

Enantioselective alkynylation to aldimines catalyzed by chiral 2,2′-di(2-aminoaryloxy)-1,1′-binaphthyl-copper(I) complexes

The enantioselective alkynylation of aldimines with terminal acetylenes catalyzed by chiral Cu(I) complexes with (R)-2,2′-di(2-aminoaryloxy)-1,1′-binaphthyl ligands (7) was examined. Chiral C₂-symmetric N,N-ligands 7, which have primary aniline moieties, were readily prepared from inexpensive (R)-1,1′-binaphthol (BINOL) as a chiral source. In particular, the reaction of N-benzylidenebenzeneamine 1a with phenylacetylene 2a proceeded smoothly in the presence of 5 mol % of (CuOTf)₂·C₆H₅CH₃ and 10 mol % of (R)-7d at room temperature for 24 h, and the corresponding propargylamine 3a was obtained with up to 82% ee.     

Enantioselective hydrosilylation of prochiral ketones catalyzed by chiral BINAP-copper(I) complexes

The CuCl/NaOt-Bu/BINAP system was found to efficiently catalyze the hydrosilylation of aryl alkyl ketones with excellent enantioselectivities by using phenyl methyl silane as a stoichiometric hydride source. High enantiomeric excesses (up to 97%) and excellent yields (up to 99%) were obtained.     

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).     

Enantioselective Friedel-Crafts reaction of acylpyrroles with glyoxylates catalyzed by BINOL-Ti(IV) complexes

We report the first efficient enantioselective Friedel-Crafts hydroxyalkylation of pyrroles having one electron-withdrawing group at the α, β or N-positions with alkyl glyoxylates catalyzed by readily available chiral BINOL-Ti(IV) complexes (1-5 mol %). The reaction regioselectively led to the desired pyrrole-hydroxyacetic acid derivatives with good yields (70-96%) and enantiomeric excesses up to 96%, and is applicable in multigram scale with low loading of the catalyst (1 mol %).     

Enantioselective pinacol coupling of aryl aldehydes catalyzed by chiral Salan-Mo(IV) complexes

Reported herein is the asymmetric pinacol coupling of aromatic aldehydes with chiral Salan-Mo(VI) dioxo complex as an effective precatalyst. Chiral diols were obtained with high diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity up to 92/8 and 95%, respectively. The possible mechanism of the pinacol coupling reaction with the catalytic system was investigated. The X-ray crystal structure of the precatalyst Mo(L3)O2 was determined and the oxidation state of the intermediate C was confirmed as +4 with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study. The proposed mechanism speculated the stereochemical outcome of the reaction, and a working model for the radical coupling of E was proposed, which explained the absolute configuration of the favored (S,S)-enantiomer of the dl isomer.     

Enantioselective synthesis of homoallylic amines through reactions of (pinacolato)allylborons with aryl-, heteroaryl-, alkyl-, or alkene-substituted aldimines catalyzed by chiral C1-symmetric NHC-Cu complexes

A catalytic method for enantioselective synthesis of homoallylamides through Cu-catalyzed reactions of stable and easily accessible (pinacolato)allylborons with aryl-, heteroaryl-, alkyl-, or alkenyl-substituted N-phosphinoylimines is disclosed. Transformations are promoted by 1-5 mol % of readily accessible NHC-Cu complexes, derived from C(1)-symmetric imidazolinium salts, which can be prepared in multigram quantities in four steps from commercially available materials. Allyl additions deliver the desired products in up to quantitative yield and 98.5:1.5 enantiomeric ratio and are amenable to gram-scale operations. A mechanistic model accounting for the observed selectivity levels and trends is proposed.     

Enantioselective oxidation of racemic secondary alcohols catalyzed by chiral Mn(III)-salen complexes with N-bromosuccinimide as a powerful oxidant

We demonstrate an efficient enantioselective oxidation of secondary alcohols catalyzed by Mn(III)-salen complex using N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) as the oxidant. The new protocol is very efficient for the oxidative kinetic resolution of a variety of secondary alcohols, including ortho-substituted benzylic alcohols.     

Enantioselective allylation of alkyl glyoxylates catalyzed by (salen)chromium(III) complexes

The enantioselective addition of allylstannanes and allylsilanes to alkyl glyoxylates of type 1, catalyzed by chiral (salen)Cr(III) complexes 3, has been studied. We have found that the reaction proceeded smoothly for low loading (1-2 mol %) of (1R,2R)-(salen)Cr(III)BF₄3a or (1R,2R)-(salen)Cr(III)ClO₄3c, and allyltributyltin under simple, undemanding conditions, affording (R)-2-hydroxypent-4-enoic acid esters 2 in good yield (61-90%) and enantioselectivity (58-76% ee).     

Enantioselective Henry reaction catalyzed with copper(II)–iminopyridine complexes

Copper complexes of chiral iminopyridines prepared from camphane-derived ketones and picolylamine catalyzed the enantioselective Henry (nitroaldol) reaction between nitromethane and a number of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes with high yields and good enantioselectivities. Iminopyridines derived from (1R)-(+)-camphor and (1S)-(+)-ketopinic acid gave the best results to afford the opposite enantiomers in each case, despite the fact they have the same stereochemical pattern at the camphane skeleton. The reactions were carried out without air or moisture exclusion.