Recent Advances in Continuous-Flow Enantioselective Catalysis

The increased demand for more efficient, safe, and green production in fine chemical and pharmaceutical industry calls for the development of continuous-flow manufacturing, and for chiral chemicals in particular, enantioselective catalytic processes. In recent years, this emerging direction has received considerable attention and has seen rapid progress. In most cases, catalytic enantioselective flow processes using homogeneous, heterogeneous, or enzymatic catalysts have shown significant advantages over the conventional batch mode, such as shortened reaction times, lower catalysts loadings, and higher selectivities in addition to the normal merits of non-enantioselective flow operations. In this Minireview, the advancements, key strategies, methods, and technologies developed the last six years as well as remaining challenges are summarized.     

Light‐Driven Organocatalysis Using Inexpensive,Nontoxic Bi2O3 as the Photocatalyst

The development of enantioselective catalytic processes that make use of sunlight as the energy source and nontoxic, affordable materials as catalysts represents one of the new and rapidly evolving areas in chemical research. The direct asymmetric α‐alkylation of aldehydes with α‐bromocarbonyl compounds can be successfully achieved by combining bismuth‐based materials as low‐band‐gap photocatalysts with the second‐generation MacMillan imidazolidinone as the chiral catalyst and simulated sunlight as a low‐cost and clean energy source. This reaction also proceeded with high efficiency when the reaction vial was exposed to the morning sunlight on a clear September day in Tarragona, Spain.     

Light‐Driven Organocatalysis Using Inexpensive,Nontoxic Bi2O3 as the Photocatalyst

The development of enantioselective catalytic processes that make use of sunlight as the energy source and nontoxic, affordable materials as catalysts represents one of the new and rapidly evolving areas in chemical research. The direct asymmetric α‐alkylation of aldehydes with α‐bromocarbonyl compounds can be successfully achieved by combining bismuth‐based materials as low‐band‐gap photocatalysts with the second‐generation MacMillan imidazolidinone as the chiral catalyst and simulated sunlight as a low‐cost and clean energy source. This reaction also proceeded with high efficiency when the reaction vial was exposed to the morning sunlight on a clear September day in Tarragona, Spain.     

Catalytic Enantioselective Amination of Alcohols by the Use of Borrowing Hydrogen Methodology: Cooperative Catalysis by Iridium and a Chiral Phosphoric Acid

The catalytic asymmetric reduction of ketimines has been explored extensively for the synthesis of chiral amines, with reductants ranging from Hantzsch esters, silanes, and formic acid to H₂ gas. Alternatively, the amination of alcohols by the use of borrowing hydrogen methodology has proven a highly atom economical and green method for the production of amines without an external reductant, as the alcohol substrate serves as the H₂ donor. A catalytic enantioselective variant of this process for the synthesis of chiral amines, however, was not known. We have examined various transition‐metal complexes supported by chiral ligands known for asymmetric hydrogenation reactions, in combination with chiral Brønsted acids, which proved essential for the formation of the imine intermediate and the transfer‐hydrogenation step. Our studies led to an asymmetric amination of alcohols to provide access to a wide range of chiral amines with good to excellent enantioselectivity.     

Synthesis of chiral iridium complexes immobilized on amphiphilic polymers and their application to asymmetric catalysis

This article details the enantioselective catalytic performance of crosslinked, polymer immobilized, Ir‐based, chiral complexes for transfer hydrogenation of cyclic imines to chiral amines. Polymerization of the achiral vinyl monomer, divinylbenzene, and a polymerizable chiral 1,2‐diamine monosulfonamide ligand followed by complexation with [IrCl₂Cp*]₂ affords the crosslinked polymeric chiral complex, which can be successfully applied to asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of cyclic imines. Polymeric catalysts prepared from amphiphilic achiral monomers have high catalytic activity in the reaction and can be used both in organic solvents and water to give chiral cyclic amines with a high level of enantioselectivity (up to 98% ee). The asymmetric reaction allows for reuse of the heterogeneous catalyst without any loss in activity or enantioselectivity over several runs. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 3037–3044     

Self‐Supported Chiral Titanium Cluster (SCTC) as a Robust Catalyst for the Asymmetric Cyanation of Imines under Batch and Continuous Flow at Room Temperature

A robust heterogeneous self‐supported chiral titanium cluster (SCTC) catalyst and its application in the enantioselective imine‐cyanation/Strecker reaction is described under batch and continuous processes. One of the major hurdles in the asymmetric Strecker reaction is the lack of availability of efficient and reusable heterogeneous catalysts that work at room temperature. We exploited the readily hydrolyzable nature of titanium alkoxide to synthesize a self‐supported chiral titanium cluster (SCTC) catalyst by the controlled hydrolysis of a preformed chiral titanium‐alkoxide complex. The isolated SCTC catalysts were remarkably stable and showed up to 98 % enantioselectivity (ee) with complete conversion of the imine within 2 h for a wide variety of imines at room temperature. The heterogeneous catalysts were recyclable more than 10 times without any loss in activity or selectivity. The robustness, high performance, and recyclability of the catalyst enabled it to be used in a packed‐bed reactor to carry out the cyanation under continuous flow. Up to 97 % ee and quantitative conversion with a throughput of 45 mg h^?1 were achieved under optimized flow conditions at room temperature in the case of benzhydryl imine. Furthermore, a three‐component Strecker reaction was performed under continuous flow by using the corresponding aldehydes and amines instead of the preformed imines. A good product distribution was obtained for the formation of amino nitriles with ee values of up to 98 %. Synthetically useful ee values were also obtained for challenging α‐branched aliphatic aldehyde by using the three‐component continuous Strecker reaction.     

Stereoconvergent,Redox‐Neutral Access to Tetrahydroquinoxalines through Relay Epoxide Opening/Amination of Alcohols

We present an economical catalytic procedure to convert readily available 1,2‐diaminobenzenes and terminal epoxides into valuable 1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroquinoxalines in a highly enantioselective fashion. This procedure operates through relay zinc and iridium catalysis, and achieves redox‐neutral and stereoconvergent production of valuable chiral heterocycles from racemic starting materials with water as the only side product. The use of commercially available reagents and catalysts and a convenient procedure also make this catalytic method attractive for practical application.     

Stereoconvergent,Redox‐Neutral Access to Tetrahydroquinoxalines through Relay Epoxide Opening/Amination of Alcohols

We present an economical catalytic procedure to convert readily available 1,2‐diaminobenzenes and terminal epoxides into valuable 1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroquinoxalines in a highly enantioselective fashion. This procedure operates through relay zinc and iridium catalysis, and achieves redox‐neutral and stereoconvergent production of valuable chiral heterocycles from racemic starting materials with water as the only side product. The use of commercially available reagents and catalysts and a convenient procedure also make this catalytic method attractive for practical application.     

Highly Enantioselective Nucleophilic Dearomatization of Pyridines by Anion‐Binding Catalysis

The asymmetric dearomatization of N‐heterocycles is an important synthetic method to gain bioactive and synthetically valuable chiral heterocycles. However, the catalytic enantio‐ and regioselective dearomatization of the simplest six‐membered‐ring N‐heteroarenes, the pyridines, is still very challenging. The first anion‐binding‐catalyzed, highly enantioselective nucleophilic dearomatization of pyridines with triazole‐based H‐bond donor catalysts is presented. Contrary to other more common NH‐based H‐bond donors, this type of organocatalyst shows a prominent higher C2‐regioselectivity and is able to promote high enantioinductions via formation of a close chiral anion‐pair complex with a preformed N‐acyl pyridinium ionic intermediate. This method offers a straightforward and useful synthetic approach to chiral N‐heterocycles from abundant and readily available pyridines.     

Nickel/NHC‐Catalyzed Asymmetric C−H Alkylation of Fluoroarenes with Alkenes: Synthesis of Enantioenriched Fluorotetralins

Chiral polyfluoroarene derivatives are an important scaffold in chemistry. An unprecedented enantioselective C?H alkylation of polyfluoroarenes with alkenes is described. The reaction employs bulky chiral N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands for nickel catalysts to enable exclusive activation of C?H bonds over C?F bonds and complete endo‐selective C?H annulation and excellent enantioselectivity. A wide variety of chiral fluorotetralins, compounds otherwise difficultly accessed but serve as important bioisosteric analogs of both tetralin and heterocycle units for drug design, are expediently synthesized from easily available substrates. To our knowledge, this is the first example of catalytic enantioselective C?H functionalization of polyfluoroarenes.     

Enantioselective C?C and C?H Bond Formation Mediated or Catalyzed by Chiral ebthi Complexes of Titanium and Zirconium

The development of catalytic processes that effect enantioselective bond formation under mild conditions is an important and challenging task in modern chemical synthesis. In this connection, chiral C₂-symmetric ansa-metallocenes (bridged metallocenes) have found notable applications as catalysts. This article discusses the chemistry of this class of chiral metallocene complexes with regard to their utility in catalytic and enantioselective C? C and C? H bond formation reactions. In addition, where applicable, a brief comparison with other related catalytic enantioselective processes is offered. Many of the reactions effected with high levels of enantioselectivity by catalytic amounts of these complexes are of great significance to the preparation of new materials and in the synthesis of therapeutic agents. For example, zirconocene complexes readily catalyze the enantioselective addition of alkylmagnesium halides to alkenes, and cationic zirconocene complexes may promote the highly stereoregulated copolymerization of terminal alkenes. Furthermore, the related chiral titanocenes are involved in an impressive range of useful asymmetric catalytic reactions, including the enantioselective hydrogenation of olefins and reduction of imines or ketones. This review attempts to bring together the practical aspects of the use of [(ebthi)M] complexes of Group 4 transition metals (catalyst synthesis and resolution), outline the manner in which the C₂-symmetric chiral ligands are believed to initiate stereoselective bond formation, and highlight the aspects of this chemistry that are less well understood and require further research.     

Poly(styrene)‐Supported Co–Salen Complexes as Efficient Recyclable Catalysts for the Hydrolytic Kinetic Resolution of Epichlorohydrin

Here we describe an unprecedented synthetic approach to poly(styrene)‐supported chiral salen ligands by the free radical polymerization of an unsymmetrical styryl‐substituted salen monomer (H₂salen=bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine). The new method allows for the attachment of salen moieties to the polymer main chain in a flexible, pendant fashion, avoiding grafting reactions that often introduce ill‐defined species on the polymers. Moreover, the loading of the salen is controlled by the copolymerization of the styryl‐substituted salen monomer with styrene in different ratios. The polymeric salen ligands are metallated with cobalt(II ) acetate to afford the corresponding supported Co–salen complexes, which are used in the hydrolytic kinetic resolution of racemic epichlorohydrin, exhibiting high reactivity and enantioselectivity. Remarkably, the copolymer‐supported Co–salen complexes showed a better catalytic performance (>99 % ee, 54 % conversion, one hour) in comparison to the homopolymeric analogues and the small molecule Co–salen complex. The soluble poly(styrene)‐supported catalysts were recovered by precipitation after the catalytic reactions and were recycled three times to afford almost identical enantiomeric excesses as the first run, with slightly reduced reaction rates.     

Chiral metallacyclophanes: self-assembly, characterization, and application in asymmetric catalysis

[structure: see text] A family of chiral metallacyclophanes has been readily assembled based on robust Pt-acetylide linkage and characterized by a variety of spectroscopic techniques and X-ray crystallography. The steric congestion around the chiral dihydroxy groups in rigid metallacyclophane 4 prevents their reactions with Ti(O(i)()Pr)(4) to form active catalysts for enantioselective diethylzinc additions to aromatic aldehydes. In contrast, chiral dihydroxy groups in more flexible unclosed metallacyclophane 5 are effective ligands for enantioselective catalytic diethylzinc additions to aromatic aldehydes.     

Development of a Continuous‐Flow System for Asymmetric Hydrogenation Using Self‐Supported Chiral Catalysts

Well‐designed, self‐assembled, metal–organic frameworks were constructed by simple mixing of multitopic MonoPhos‐based ligands ( 3 ; MonoPhos=chiral, monodentate phosphoramidites based on the 1,1′‐bi‐2‐naphthol platform) and [Rh(cod)₂]BF₄ (cod=cycloocta‐1,5‐diene). This self‐supporting strategy allowed for simple and efficient catalyst immobilization without the use of extra added support, giving well‐characterized, insoluble (in toluene) polymeric materials ( 4 ). The resulting self‐supported catalysts ( 4 ) showed outstanding catalytic performance for the asymmetric hydrogenation of a number of α‐dehydroamino acids ( 5 ) and 2‐aryl enamides ( 7 ) with enantiomeric excess (ee) ranges of 94–98 % and 90–98 %, respectively. The linker moiety in 4 influenced the reactivity significantly, albeit with slight impact on the enantioselectivity. Acquisition of reaction profiles under steady‐state conditions showed 4 h and 4 i to have the highest reactivity (turnover frequency (TOF)=95 and 97 h^?1 at 2 atm, respectively), whereas appropriate substrate/catalyst matching was needed for optimum chiral induction. The former was recycled 10 times without loss in ee (95–96 %), although a drop in TOF of approximately 20 % per cycle was observed. The estimation of effective catalytic sites in self‐supported catalyst 4 e was also carried out by isolation and hydrogenation of catalyst–substrate complex, showing about 37 % of the Rh^I centers in the self‐supported catalyst 4 e are accessible to substrate 5 c in the catalysis. A continuous flow reaction system using an activated C/ 4 h mixture as stationary‐phase catalyst for the asymmetric hydrogenation of 5 b was developed and run continuously for a total of 144 h with >99 % conversion and 96–97 % enantioselectivity. The total Rh leaching in the product solution is 1.7 % of that in original catalyst 4 h .     

Synthesis of Novel Chiral Phosphoric Acid‐Bearing Two Acidic Phenolic Hydroxyl Groups and its Catalytic Evaluation for Enantioselective Friedel‐Crafts Alkylation of Indoles and Enones

A novel chiral phosphoric acid catalyst bearing two acidic phenolic hydroxyl groups was synthesized. Its catalytic activity as a chiral Brøsted acid has been examined in the enantioselective Friedel‐Crafts alkylation of indoles and enones as a model reaction. In comparison with the other chiral phosphoric acid catalysts, the reaction catalyzed by the novel chiral catalyst afforded the desired 3‐substituted indoles in a higher enantioselectivity (up to 69% ee).     

Nanosheet‐Enhanced Enantioselectivity in the Vanadium‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Epoxidation of Allylic Alcohols

The use of suitable chiral ligands is an efficient means of producing highly enantioselective transition‐metal catalysts. Herein, we report a facile, economic, and effective strategy for the design of chiral ligands that demonstrate enhanced enantioselectivity and catalytic efficacy. Our simple strategy employs naturally occurring or synthetic inorganic nanosheets as huge and rigid planar substituents for, but not limited to, naturally available α‐amino‐acid ligands; these ligands were successfully used in the vanadium‐catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols. The crucial role of the inorganic nanosheets as planar substituents in improving the enantioselectivity of the reaction was clearly revealed by relating the observed enantiomeric excess with the distribution of the catalytic centers and the accessibility of the substrate molecules to the catalytic sites. DFT calculations indicated that the LDH layer improved the enantioselectivity by influencing the formation and stability of the catalytic transition states, both in terms of steric resistance and H‐bonding interactions.     

A Rhodium Catalyst Superior to Iridium Congeners for Enantioselective Radical Amination Activated by Visible Light

A bis‐cyclometalated rhodium(III) complex catalyzes a visible‐light‐activated enantioselective α‐amination of 2‐acyl imidazoles with up to 99 % yield and 98 % ee. The rhodium catalyst is ascribed a dual function as a chiral Lewis acid and, simultaneously, as a light‐activated smart initiator of a radical‐chain process through intermediate aminyl radicals. Notably, related iridium‐based photoredox catalysts reported before were unsuccessful in this enantioselective radical C?N bond formation. The surprising preference for rhodium over iridium is attributed to much faster ligand‐exchange kinetics of the rhodium complexes involved in the catalytic cycle, which is crucial to keep pace with the highly reactive and thus short‐lived nitrogen‐centered radical intermediate.     

Readily accessible mesoporous silica nanoparticles supported chiral urea-amine bifunctional catalysts for enantioselective reactions

The main objective of this study is to develop readily accessible and recyclable solid catalysts for enantioselective reactions. To achieve this, magnetic MCM-41 and non-magnetic SBA-15 mesoporous supports were prepared, then mesoporous silica supported chiral urea-amine bifunctional catalysts were synthesized by grafting of chiral urea-amine ligand onto SBA-15 and magnetic MCM-41. The magnetic and non-magnetic supports and so-prepared solid catalysts were characterized by using different methods such as N₂ sorption measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray analysis (FESEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Results showed that (1R, 2R) or (1S, 2S)-1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diamine was successively immobilized onto magnetic MCM-41 and SBA-15 pores. The heterogeneous chiral solid catalysts and their homogenous counterparts exhibited high activities both enantioselective transfer hydrogenation reaction (up to 99% conversion and 65% ee) and enantioselective Michael reaction (up to 98% conversion and 26% ee). Moreover, the SBA-15 supported solid catalysts were separated from the reaction mixture by simple filtration, whereas the magnetic MCM-41 supported solid catalysts were separated by simple magnetic decantation and reused in three consecutive catalytic experiments.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Hetero-Diels-Alder Reactions of Carbonyl Compounds and Imines

Asymmetric catalysis is a challenge for chemists: How can we design catalysts to achieve the goal of forming optically active compounds? This review provides the reader with an overview of the development of catalytic asymmetric hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of carbonyl compounds and imines. Since its discovery, the Diels-Alder reaction has undergone intensive development and is of fundamental importance for synthetic, physical, and theoretical chemists. The Diels-Alder reaction has been through different stages of development, and at the beginning of the 21st century catalytic Diels-Alder reactions are one of the main areas of focus. The preparation of numerous compounds of importance for our society is based on cycloaddition reactions to carbonyl compounds and imines. There are several parallels between the reactions of carbonyl compounds and those of imines, which, however, begin to vanish on entering the field of catalytic reactions. Why? From a mechanistic point of view some similarities can be drawn, but the synthetic development of catalytic enantioselective hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of imines are several years behind those of the carbonyl compounds. For hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of carbonyl compounds there a number of different chiral catalysts, and great progress has been achieved in developing enantioselective reactions for unactivated and activated carbonyl compounds. In contrast the development of catalytic enantioselective hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of imines is in its infancy and only few catalytic reactions have been published. This review will focus on the most important developments, and discuss the synthetic and mechanistic aspects of enantioselective hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of carbonyl compounds catalyzed by chiral Lewis acids. For the hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of imines, the diastereoselective reactions of optically substrates catalyzed by Lewis acids will be presented first, followed by the catalytic enantioselective reactions.     

Developing a Practical Chiral Toolbox for Asymmetric Catalytic Reactions

Chiral Quest's Toolbox Approach: During the last several decades, chemists have made major progress in discovering man-made catalysts to perform challenging asymmetric transformations. However, there is no universal chiral ligand or catalyst for solving problems in enantioselective transformations. The focus of Chiral Quest's research is to develop a useful chiral toolbox for strategically important asymmetric catalytic reactions by inventing a diverse set of novel chiral ligands and combining them with transition metals as effective enantioselective catalysts. The toolbox approach addresses significant problems in organic stereochemistry and has resulted in practical methods for the synthesis of chiral pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals