Palladium‐Catalyzed Enantioselective Heck Carbonylation with a Monodentate Phosphoramidite Ligand: Asymmetric Synthesis of (+)‐Physostigmine, (+)‐Physovenine,and (+)‐Folicanthine

Reported herein is the development of the first enantioselective monodentate ligand assisted Pd‐catalyzed domino Heck carbonylation reaction with CO. The highly enantioselective domino Heck carbonylation of N‐aryl acrylamides and various nucleophiles, including arylboronic acids, anilines, and alcohols, in the presence of CO was achieved. A novel monodentate phosphoramidite ligand, Xida‐Phos, has been developed for this reaction and it displays excellent reactivity and enantioselectivity. The reaction employs readily available starting materials, tolerates a wide range of functional groups, and provides straightforward access to a diverse array of enantioenriched oxindoles having β‐carbonyl‐substituted all‐carbon quaternary stereocenters, thus providing a facile and complementary method for the asymmetric synthesis of bioactive hexahydropyrroloindole and its dimeric alkaloids.     

Highly Diastereo‐ and Enantioselective Palladium‐Catalyzed [3+2] Cycloaddition of Vinyl Aziridines and α,β‐Unsaturated Ketones

A palladium‐catalyzed asymmetric [3+2] cycloaddition reaction of vinylaziridines with α,β‐unsaturated ketones, wherein the alkenes have a single activator, is realized in high diastereo‐ and enantioselectivity, thus affording 3,4‐disubstituted pyrrolidines in high yields with excellent ee values. The introduction of a methyl group at C1 of the vinyl group the vinylaziridines greatly improves the stereochemistry of the reaction. A plausible transition state is proposed.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Allylic Alkylation of Ketone Enolates

Palladium‐catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of nonstabilized ketone enolates to generate quaternary centers has been achieved in excellent yield and enantioselectivity. Optimized conditions consist of performing the reaction in the presence of two equivalents of LDA as base, one equivalent of trimethytin chloride as a Lewis acid, 1,2‐dimethoxyethane as the solvent, and a catalytic amount of a chiral palladium complex formed from π‐allyl palladium chloride dimer 3 and cyclohexyldiamine derived chiral ligand 4 . Linearly substituted, acyclic 1,3‐dialkyl substituted, and unsubstituted allylic carbonates function well as electrophiles. A variety of α‐tetralones, cyclohexanones, and cyclopentanones can be employed as nucleophiles. The absolute configuration generated is consistent with the current model in which steric factors control stereofacial differentiation. The quaternary substituted products available by this method are versatile substrates for further elaboration.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Reductive Heck Reaction of Aryl Halides

Asymmetric reductive Heck reaction of aryl halides is realized in high stereoselectivity. Hydrogen‐bond donors, trialkylammonium salts in a glycol solvent, were used to promote halide dissociation from neutral arylpalladium complexes to access cationic, stereoselective pathways.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Decarboxylative Cycloaddition of Vinylethylene Carbonates with Formaldehyde: Enantioselective Construction of Tertiary Vinylglycols

An efficient method for the enantioselective construction of tertiary vinylglycols through a palladium‐catalyzed asymmetric decarboxylative cycloaddition of vinylethylene carbonates with formaldehyde was developed. By using a palladium complex generated in situ from [Pd₂(dba)₃]?CHCl₃ and a phosphoramidite ligand as a catalyst under mild reaction conditions, the process allows conversion of racemic 4‐substituted 4‐vinyl‐1,3‐dioxolan‐2‐ones into the corresponding 1,3‐dioxolanes, as methylene acetal protected tertiary vinylglycols, in high yields with good to excellent enantioselectivities.     

Enantioselective Copper‐Catalyzed Decarboxylative Propargylic Alkylation of Propargyl β‐Ketoesters with a Chiral Ketimine P,N,N‐Ligand

The first enantioselective copper‐catalyzed decarboxylative propargylic alkylation has been developed. Treatment of propargyl β‐ketoesters with a catalyst, prepared in situ from [Cu(CH₃CN)₄BF₄] and a newly developed chiral tridentate ketimine P,N,N‐ligand under mild reaction conditions, generates β‐ethynyl ketones in good yields and with high enantioselectivities without requiring the pregeneration of ketone enolates. This new process provides facile access to a range of chiral β‐ethynyl ketones in a highly enantioenriched form.     

Design of New Ligands for the Palladium‐Catalyzed Arylation of α‐Branched Secondary Amines

In Pd‐catalyzed C? N cross‐coupling reactions, α‐branched secondary amines are difficult coupling partners and the desired products are often produced in low yields. In order to provide a robust method for accessing N‐aryl α‐branched tertiary amines, new catalysts have been designed to suppress undesired side reactions often encountered when these amine nucleophiles are used. These advances enabled the arylation of a wide array of sterically encumbered amines, highlighting the importance of rational ligand design in facilitating challenging Pd‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Aminohydroxylation of 1,3‐Dienes

A Pd^II‐catalyzed asymmetric aminohydroxylation of 1,3‐dienes with N‐tosyl‐2‐aminophenols was developed by making use of a chiral pyridinebis(oxazoline) ligand. The highly regioselective reaction provides direct and efficient access to chiral 3,4‐dihydro‐2H‐1,4‐benzoxazines in high yield and enantioselectivity (up to 96:4 e.r.). The reaction employs readily available N‐tosyl‐2‐aminophenols as a unique aminohydroxylation reagent and is complementary to known asymmetric aminohydroxylation methods.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed para‐Selective Alkylation of Electron‐Deficient Arenes

Intermolecular alkylations of electron‐deficient arenes proceed with good para selectivity. Palladium catalysts were used to generate nucleophilic alkyl radicals from alkyl halides, which then directly add onto the arenes. The arene scope and the site of alkylation are opposite to those of classical Friedel–Crafts alkylations, which prefer electron‐rich systems.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Asymmetric C(sp3)−H Allylation of 2‐Alkylpyridines

The palladium‐catalyzed asymmetric side‐chain C(α)‐allylation of 2‐alkylpyridines, without using an external base, was developed. The high linear selectivities and enantioselectivities were achieved using new chiral diamidophosphite monodentate ligands. Given that the reaction conditions do not require an external base, this catalyst system enabled chemoselective C(α)‐allylation of 2‐alkylpyridines containing α‐carbonyl C?H bonds, which are more acidic than α‐pyridyl C?H bonds.     

α‐Chiral Acetylenes Having an All‐Carbon Quaternary Center: Phase Transfer Catalyzed Enantioselective α Alkylation of α‐Alkyl‐α‐alkynyl Esters

Going through the phases : The title reaction was found to proceed by an initial base‐mediated isomerization to allenyl esters and subsequent phase transfer catalyzed alkylation at the α position of the ester (see scheme).

     

Asymmetric Conjugate Alkynylation of Cyclic α,β‐Unsaturated Carbonyl Compounds with a Chiral Diene Rhodium Catalyst

Asymmetric conjugate alkynylation of cyclic α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl compounds (ketones, esters, and amides) was realized by use of diphenyl[(triisopropylsilyl)ethynyl]methanol as an alkynylating reagent in the presence of a rhodium catalyst coordinated with a new chiral diene ligand (Fc‐bod; bod=bicyclo[2.2.2]octa‐2,5‐diene, Fc=ferrocenyl) to give high yields of the corresponding β‐alkynyl‐substituted carbonyl compounds with 95–98 % ee.