Highly enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of 2-benzopyrylium-4-olate catalyzed by chiral Lewis acids

We have found that significant levels of enantioselectivity are obtained in the 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of 2-benzopyrylium-4-olate using chiral 2,6-bis(oxazolinyl)pyridine (Pybox)-rare earth metal triflate complexes as chiral Lewis acid catalysts. The reactions with benzyloxyacetaldehyde derivatives catalyzed by Sc(III)-Pybox-i-Pr (10 mol %) proceeded to give endo-adducts selectively with high enantioselectivity (up to 93% ee). The reaction with benzyl pyruvate under similar conditions gave an exo-adduct selectively with 87% ee. In the reaction with 3-acryloyl-2-oxazolidinone, Yb(III)-Pybox-Ph was found to be effective in providing an exo-adduct with extremely high enantioselectivity (98% ee).     

Chiral 2,6-bis(oxazolinyl)pyridine-rare earth metal complexes as catalysts for highly enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of 2-benzopyrylium-4-olates

Significant levels of enantioselectivity were obtained in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of 2-benzopyrylium-4-olate generated from the Rh(2)(OAc)(4)-catalyzed decomposition of o-methoxycarbonyl-alpha-diazoacetophenone. This reaction utilized chiral 2,6-bis(oxazolinyl)pyridine (Pybox)--rare earth metal triflate complexes as chiral Lewis acid catalysts. The reactions with several benzyloxyacetaldehyde derivatives catalyzed by a Sc(III)--Pybox-i-Pr complex (10 mol %) proceeded smoothly to yield endo-adducts selectively with high enantioselectivity (up to 93% ee). For the reaction with benzyl pyruvate, the Sc(III)-Pybox-i-Pr complex (10 mol %) catalyzed the reaction effectively in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid (10 mol %) to yield an exo-adduct with both high diastereo- and enantioselectivity (94% ee). This catalytic system was efficiently applied to the reactions with several other alpha-keto esters with high exo- and enantioselectivities (up to 95% ee). In contrast to the reaction with carbonyl compounds, Yb(III)--Pybox-Ph complex (10 mol %) was found to be effective to obtain high enantioselectivity (96% ee) of diastereoselectively produced exo-cycloadduct in the reaction with 3-acryloyl-2-oxazolidinone.     

Peri- and enantioselectivity of thermal, scandium-, and [pybox/scandium]-catalyzed Diels-Alder and hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of methyl (E)-2-oxo-4-aryl-butenoates with cyclopentadiene

The cycloaddition between methyl (E)-2-oxo-4-aryl-3-butenoates (2 a-d) and cyclopentadiene, in addition to the expected normal Diels-Alder (DA) adducts endo-3 a-d and exo-4 a-d, gives the less expected endo-5 a-d products of the [4+2] hetero-Diels-Alder (HDA) reaction in which the alpha-ketoester behaves as a heterodiene. If a comparison is made between the thermal and the scandium(III) triflate-catalyzed conditions, the periselectivity changes and whereas under thermal conditions the main products are those from the DA reaction (3 a-d), in the presence of Sc(OTf)3 (OTf=triflate), the HDA products 5 a-d become largely predominant. The reactions are enantioselectively catalyzed by the scandium(III) triflate complex of (4'S,5'S)-2,6-bis[4'-(triisopropylsilyl)oxymethyl-5'-phenyl-1',3'-oxazolin-2'-yl]pyridine (1) and both the DA and the HDA products are obtained with excellent enantiomeric excess, up to >99% ee. The X-ray crystallographic structure determination of 5 c assigns it the 4R,4aS,7aR absolute configuration. The thermal retro-Claisen rearrangement of 3 c into (4R,4aS,7aR)-5 c allows the correlation of their absolute configuration, and 3 c has therefore the 2R,3R configuration. By analogy the same absolute configuration can be assigned to 3 a,b,d and 5 a,b,d, and the stereospecific thermal Claisen rearrangement of the optically active 5 a,b,d into 3 a,b,d completes the correlation between their absolute configuration. The [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements can be easily carried out under catalytic conditions with scandium(III) triflate, which promotes the equilibration between 3 a-d and 5 a-d, with a different degree of enantioselectivity characterizing the process starting from 3 a-d or 5 a-d. The unambiguous attributions of the configuration to the products allows us to propose a rationale of the stereochemical outcome of the catalyzed cycloaddition and to investigate the reaction mechanism of the competing DA and HDA reactions and shifts in products distribution by acid catalysis.     

Chiral phosphinooxathiane ligands for catalytic asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction

Chiral cationic palladium[bond]phosphinooxathiane complexes have been found to be effective catalysts for enantioselective Diels-Alder (DA) reaction of cyclopentadiene with acyl-1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones to give the corresponding DA adducts in good yield and high enantioselectivity up to 93% ee.     

Highly exo-selective and enantioselective cycloaddition reactions of nitrones catalyzed by a chiral binaphthyldiimine-Ni(II) complex

[reaction: see text] Significant levels of exo-selectivity (exo:endo = >99:1 to 86:14) and enantioselectivity (95-82% ee) were obtained in the 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of a number of nitrones with 3-(2-alkenoyl)-2-thiazolidinethiones, using the chiral binaphthyldiimine-Ni(II) complex (5-20 mol %), which was easily prepared form N,N'-bis(3,5-dichrolo-2-hydroxybenzylidene)-1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diamine and Ni(ClO4)2 x 6H2O in CHCl3 in the presence of 4 A molecular sieves, as a chiral Lewis acid catalyst.     

Dual catalyst control in the enantioselective intramolecular Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction

The intramolecular Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction has been achieved with unprecedented levels of enantioselectivity. Using a co-catalyst system involving pipecolinic acid and N-methylimidazole, cyclic MBH products have been obtained with enantiomer ratios of 92:8 (84% ee). In addition, reactions may be carried out with a "kinetic resolution quench" involving acetic anhydride and an asymmetric acylation catalyst such that ee enhancement occurs to deliver products with >98% ee with an isolated yield of 50%. [reaction: see text]     

A case for enantioselective allylic alkylation catalyzed by palladium nanoparticles

Palladium nanoparticles (4 nm, fcc) were prepared through decomposition of [Pd2(dba)3] by H2 in the presence of a chiral xylofuranoside diphosphite. These particles catalyze the allylic alkylation of rac-3-acetoxy-1,3-diphenyl-1-propene with dimethyl malonate leading to an almost total conversion of the (R) enantiomer and almost no reaction with the (S). This gives rise to 97% ee for the alkylation product and a kinetic resolution of the substrate recovered with ca. 90% ee. This behavior was compared to that of a molecular catalyst at various dilutions, and the differences between the two systems are discussed. This is the first colloidal system shown to display such a high enantioselectivity besides the well-known Pt/cinchonidine system.     

Henry reaction catalyzed by recoverable enantioselective catalysts based on copper(II) complexes of α-methoxypoly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(l-glutamic acid) and imidazolidine-4-one ligands

Herein we describe the preparation and characterization of a recoverable catalyst for a Henry reaction based on a Cu(II) complex of block copolymer α-methoxypoly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(l-glutamic acid) with (2R,5S)- or (2S,5R)-5-isopropyl-5-methyl-2-(pyridine-2-yl)imidazolidine-4-one. The reactions of substituted aldehydes with nitromethane catalyzed by these catalysts proceed with high chemical yield (70–98%) and with high enantioselectivity (61–92% ee). The reaction mixture is in the form of a colloid system and is formed by self-organized aggregates of the catalysts with average hydrodynamic particle size of 189 ± 3 nm (DLS). After sevenfold recycling, the catalyst exhibited no decrease in the enantioselectivity and only a slight decrease (ca. 18%) in the yield for the Henry reaction of nitromethane with 2-methoxybenzaldehyde.     

Enantioselective photochemical reactions of 2-pyridones in solution

[reaction: see text] Two key photochemical reactions of prochiral 2-pyridones were studied in the presence of a chiral host. The [4 + 4]-photocycloaddition with cyclopentadiene (CpH) proceeded smoothly and with high enantioselectivity (84-87% ee). The absolute configuration of the endo-diastereoisomer was established by X-ray crystallography. The electrocyclic [4pi]-ring closure to 3-oxo-2-azabicyclo[2.2.0]-5-hexenes occurred with lower enantioselectivity (20-23% ee at -20 degrees C). The velocity of the latter reaction slowed significantly with decreasing temperature.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation of olefins using H2O2, part II: catalytic activities and mechanism

Asymmetric epoxidation of olefins with 30 % H2O2 in the presence of [Ru(pybox)(pydic)] 1 and [Ru(pyboxazine)(pydic)] 2 has been studied in detail (pybox = pyridine-2,6-bisoxazoline, pyboxazine = pyridine-2,6-bisoxazine, pydic = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate). 35 Ruthenium complexes with sterically and electronically different substituents have been tested in environmentally benign epoxidation reactions. Mono-, 1,1-di-, cis- and trans-1,2-di-, tri-, and tetra-substituted aromatic olefins with versatile functional groups can be epoxidized with this type of catalyst in good to excellent yields (up to 100 %) with moderate to good enantioselectivies (up to 84 % ee). Additive and solvent effects as well as the relative rate of reaction with different catalysts have been established. It is shown that the presence of weak organic acids or an electron-withdrawing group on the catalyst increases the reactivity. New insights on the reaction intermediates and reaction pathway of the ruthenium-catalyzed epoxidation are proposed on the basis of density functional theory calculation and experiments.     

Synthesis of 7,7’-Disubstituted BINAP and Their Application in Asymmetric Catalytic Reaction

The design of new chiral ligands plays a very important role in the development of transition metal catalyzed asymmetric synthesis. Many chiral diphosphine ligands have been prepared and applied in asymmetric catalytic reactions with excellent enantioselectivities. Among the chiral diphosphine ligands reported, BINAP was found to have been the widest application in the transition metal catalyzed reaction. Recently we have developed a novel oxovanadium (Ⅳ) complex catalyst for the oxidative …     

New pyridine carboxamide ligands and their complexation to copper(II). X-Ray crystal structures of mono-, di, tri- and tetranuclear copper complexes

Seven new pyridine dicarboxamide ligands H2L(1-7) have been synthesised from condensation reactions involving pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid (H2dipic), pyridine-2,6-dicarbonyl dichloride or 2,6-diaminopyridine with heterocyclic amine or carboxylic acid precursors. Crystallographic analyses of N,N'-bis(2-pyridyl)pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide monohydrate (H2L8 x H2O), N,N'-bis[2-(2-pyridyl)methyl]pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide and N,N'-bis[2-(2-pyridyl)ethyl]pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide monohydrate revealed extensive intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions. 2,6-Bis(pyrazine-2-carboxamido)pyridine (H2L6) and 2,6-bis(pyridine-2-carboxamido)pyridine (H2L7) reacted with copper(II) acetate monohydrate to give tricopper(II) complexes [Cu3(L)2(mu2-OAc)2]. X-Ray crystallography confirmed deprotonation of the amidic nitrogen atoms and that the (L6,7)2- ligands and acetate anions hold three copper(II) ions in approximately linear fashion. H2L8. Reacted with copper(II) tetrakis(pyridine) perchlorate to give [Cu(L8)(OH2)]2 x 2H2O, in which (L8)2- was tridentate through the nitrogen atoms of the central pyridine ring and the deprotonated carboxamide groups at one copper centre, with one of the terminal pyridyl rings coordinating to the other copper atom in the dimer. The corresponding reaction using H2L7 gave [Cu3(L7)2(py)2][ClO4]2, which transformed during an attempted recrystallisation from ethanol under aerobic conditions to a tetracopper(II) complex [Cu4(L7)2(L7-O)2].     

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.     

Asymmetric intermolecular C-H functionalization of benzyl silyl ethers mediated by chiral auxiliary-based aryldiazoacetates and chiral dirhodium catalysts

[reaction: see text] C-H functionalization of benzyl silyl ethers by means of rhodium-catalyzed insertions of aryldiazoacetates can be achieved in a highly diastereoselective and enantioselective manner by judicious choice of chiral catalyst or auxiliary. The dirhodium tetraprolinates such as Rh2((S)-DOSP)4 have been widely successful as chiral catalysts in the C-H functionalization chemistry of aryldiazoacetates, but give poor enantioselectivity in the reactions of aryldiazoacetates with benzyl silyl ether derivatives. The use of (S)-lactate as a chiral auxiliary resulted in C-H functionalization with moderately high diastereoselectivity (79-88% de) and enantioselectivity (68-85% ee). The best results (91-95% de, 95-98% ee), however, were achieved using Hashimoto's Rh2((S)-PTTL)4 catalyst.     

A new green approach for the synthesis of 12-aryl-8,9,10,12-tetrahydrobenzo[a]xanthene-11-one derivatives using task specific acidic ionic liquid[NMP]H_2PO_4

12-Aryl-8,9,10,12-tetrahydrobenzo[a]xanthene-11-one derivatives were synthesized by a convenient and environmentally benign procedure involving multicomponent condensation reactions of substituted aromatic aldehydes with 2,7-dihydroxynaphthalene/2-naphthols/2,6-dihydroxynaphthlene and cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds in task specific acidic ionic liquid[NMP]H_2PO_4 at 80 ℃.This protocol has proved to be efficient in terms of good yields,operational simplicity,easy workup,recyclability of reaction medium/catalyst,and short reaction time.     

Reactions of some pyranylidene esters with amines

The reactions of 4-(2,2-dimethyl-4,6-dioxo-1,3-dioxan-5-ylidene)-2,6-diphenyl-4H-pyran ( 1 ) with primary amines gave the corresponding 1-substituted 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives. The related benzo derivative of 1 (12) and primary amines gave 3-substituted 3,4-dihydro-2-phenyl-5H-[1]benzopyrano[3,4-c] pyridine-4,5-dione derivatives. With secondary amines, 12 gave 2-phenyl-4H,5H-pyrano[3,4-c] [1]benzopyrane-4,5-dione, and with isopropylamine, N,N-dimethylhydra-zine, and methanolic potassium hydroxide, 12 gave 4-phenacylcoumarin. Some reaction intermediates were isolated which indicate probable reaction paths. The reactions with amines were extended to a naphtho derivative of 1 (19) and to a thia homolog of 12 (24).     

A flexible and versatile strategy for the covalent immobilization of chiral catalysts based on pyridinebis(oxazoline) ligands

[reaction: see text] Flexible and versatile methods have been developed for the immobilization of chiral pyridinebis(oxazoline) ligands by covalent bonding to a solid support, either by grafting or by polymerization. Different spacers can easily be introduced to modulate the support-ligand distance and the electronic properties of the chiral ligand. As an example, 2,6-bis[(S)-4-isopropyloxazolin-2-yl]pyridine has been immobilized on polystyrene resins, both on a Merrifield-type resin by grafting and on supports prepared by polymerization of 4-vinyl-substituted ligands. The corresponding Ru complexes have been tested as catalysts in the cyclopropanation reaction between styrene and ethyl diazoacetate. The catalytic activity, the enantioselectivity, and the recyclability are strongly dependent on the catalyst preparation method and the total exclusion of oxygen and moisture in the filtration process. Under such optimized conditions, yields over 60% with up to 90% ee can be obtained in four successive reactions-the best cyclopropanation results described to date for a chiral solid ruthenium catalyst.     

Synthesis, structural characterization, and magnetic studies of polynuclear iron complexes with a new disubstituted pyridine ligand

A series of novel polyiron species have been prepared from the reaction of iron chloride with the 2,5-disubstituted pyridines H2L(n) (H2L1) = N,N'-bis(n-butylcarbamoyl)pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide; H2L2 = N,N'-bis(n-ethylcarbamoyl)pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide). By small modifications of the experimental conditions under which the reactions are carried out, it has been possible to prepare the quadruply stranded diiron(II) complex [Fe2(mu-H2L1)4(mu-Cl)2][FeCl4]2 (1), the metallamacrocycle [Fe2(mu-H2L1)2(THF)4Cl2][FeCl4]2 (2), the hexairon(III) compound [Fe6(L1)2(mu-OMe)6(mu4-O)2Cl4] (3), and the mixed-valence trinuclear iron complexes [Fe3(L(n))3(mu3-O)] (n = 1, 4; n = 2, 5). The X-ray crystal structures of 3 and 5 and magnetic studies for all the compounds are herein presented. Interestingly, the structural analysis of 5 at room temperature indicates that one of the iron centers is Fe(III) while the other two have an average valence state between Fe(II) and Fe(III). The five complexes herein presented demonstrate the great versatility that the new ligand has as a building block for the formation of supramolecular coordination assemblies.     

Enantioselective synthesis of 2-alkylidenetetrahydrofurans based on a ‘cyclization/enzymatic resolution’ strategy

Enantiomerically pure 2-alkylidenetetrahydrofurans have been prepared by TiCl₄ mediated enantiospecific reactions of 1,3-bis-silyl enol ethers with enantiomerically pure epichlorohydrin. In addition, the enzymatic kinetic resolution of 2-alkylidenetetrahydrofurans, using Candida antarctica lipase B (CAL-B), was studied. Enzymatic kinetic resolution of monocyclic 5-vinyl-2-alkylidenetetrahydrofuran with CAL-B afforded the enantiomerically pure ester with 97% ee. For a bicyclic 2-alkylidenetetrahydrofuran, this proceeded with excellent enantioselectivity (E >100) affording the enantiomerically pure acid with 98% ee. 2-Alkylidenetetrahydrofurans were prepared by [3+2] cyclization reactions of 1,3-dicarbonyl dianions (‘free dianions’) or 1,3-bis-silyl enol ethers (‘masked dianions’).     

Enantioselective Lewis acid-catalyzed Mukaiyama-Michael reactions of acyclic enones. Catalysis by allo-threonine-derived oxazaborolidinones

allo-Threonine-derived O-aroyl-B-phenyl-N-tosyl-1,3,2-oxazaborolidin-5-ones 1g,n catalyze the asymmetric Mukaiyama-Michael reaction of acyclic enones with a trimethylsilyl ketene S,O-acetal in high enantioselectivity. A range of alkenyl methyl ketones is successfully employed as Michael acceptors affording ee values of 85-90% by using 10 mol % of the catalyst. The use of 2,6-diisopropylphenol and tert-butyl methyl ether as additives is found to be essential to achieve high enantioselectivity in these reactions. The effects of the additives are discussed in terms of the retardation of an Si(+)-catalyzed racemic pathway, which seriously deteriorates the enantioselectivity of asymmetric Mukaiyama-Michael reactions. A working model for asymmetric induction is proposed based on correlation between catalyst structures and enantioselectivities.