The effect of conformational equilibrium on the enantioselectivity of catalysts: a quantitative relationship for the evaluation,design, and prediction of chiral ligands in the addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehydes

A kinetic system correlating the enantioselectivity with a catalyst’s conformational equilibrium, as a theoretical basis for the evaluation, design, and prediction of chiral ligand, is described for the addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde, and more importantly, a quantitative relationship between the conformations and the enantioselectivity is derived from this catalytic asymmetric kinetic system, which interprets that the observed enantioselectivity is not a weighted average of the enantioselectivity of the individual conformers.     

A mathematical expression for the enantioselectivity and thermodynamic factors in the conformational equilibrium of catalysts in the addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde

A mathematical expression for the enantioselectivity and thermodynamic factors is presented in the conformational equilibrium of a flexible chiral catalyst for the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. The results show that the total enantioselectivity of the catalyzed reaction is not only governed by the free energy difference of two ground-state conformers, as well as the free energies of activation for the major enantiomeric product formed from each of the catalyst’s conformations, but also by the difference in the transition state energies of the formation of the (S)- and (R)-enantiomers from the individual conformers of the catalyst.     

Chiral ligands derived from Abrine 8. An experimental and theoretical study of free ligand conformational preferences and the addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde

Three structurally similar series of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline ligands, 4a-d, 6a-d and 7a-d, and two series of chiral oxazolidines, 8a-d and 9a-g, were synthesized and used as chiral catalysts in the addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde. The enantioselectivities of the resulting 1-phenyl-1-propanol were obtained in each case, and these ee values were, in most cases, related to the conformational populations of the free ligand as expressed by the calculated differences in the energies of the ligand conformations formed by inversion at nitrogen. This suggested the possible existence of a linear free energy relationship. The effect on enantioselectivity of the carbon chain length of the R group located (1) on the C-3 substituent of 4a-d, 6a-d, and 7a-d or (2) at C-5 in 8a-d and 9a-g was studied in detail. On the basis of the correlations observed and the ligands' structural characterization, a structure was proposed for the transition state during ethyl group transfer when using ligands 8a-d. Furthermore, the change in enantioselectivity was successfully predicted when diastereomeric ligands 11 and 12 were compared in this chiral addition.     

Catalytic Enantioselective Synthesis of Heterocyclic Vicinal Fluoroamines by Using Asymmetric Protonation: Method Development and Mechanistic Study

A catalytic enantioselective synthesis of heterocyclic vicinal fluoroamines is reported. A chiral Brønsted acid promotes aza-Michael addition to fluoroalkenyl heterocycles to give a prochiral enamine intermediate that undergoes asymmetric protonation upon rearomatization. The reaction accommodates a range of azaheterocycles and nucleophiles, generating the C−F stereocentre in high enantioselectivity, and is also amenable to stereogenic C−CF₃ bonds. Extensive DFT calculations provided evidence for stereocontrolled proton transfer from catalyst to substrate as the rate-determining step, and showed the importance of steric interactions from the catalyst's alkyl groups in enforcing the high enantioselectivity. Crystal structure data show the dominance of noncovalent interactions in the core structure conformation, enabling modulation of the conformational landscape. Ramachandran-type analysis of conformer distribution and Protein Data Bank mining indicated that benzylic fluorination by this approach has the potential to improve the potency of several marketed drugs.     

Chiral N-acylethylenediamines as new modular ligands for the catalytic asymmetric addition of alkylzinc reagents to aldehydes

Chiral N-acylethylenediamines represent a new class of modular ligands for the catalytic asymmetric addition of alkylzinc reagents to aldehydes. The N-acylethylenediamine moiety serves as a metal binding site, while attached amino acids provide the source of chirality. Three sites of diversity on the ligands were optimized to enhance the enantioselectivity of the catalysts using an iterative optimization procedure. The most effective ligand, 4k, was synthesized in a single reaction step from inexpensive and commercially available starting materials. This ligand (10 mol %) catalyzed the addition of Me2Zn to 2-naphthaldehyde, benzaldehyde, and 4-chlorobenzaldehyde to give the corresponding alcohol products in 86%, 84% and 81% ee, respectively.     

The synthesis of chiral amino diol tridentate ligands and their enantioselective induction during the addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes

A series of C₂-symmetric chiral amino diol tridentate ligands 3a–g were prepared from achiral bulky organolithiums, achiral bulky primary amines, and optically active epichlorohydrin (ECH). The prepared C₂-symmetric chiral amino diol tridentate ligands were capable of inducing enantioselectivity in the model reaction of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes with diethylzinc with an ee of up to 96%. The enantioselectivity can be modulated by adjusting the steric hindrance of the achiral reagents employed in the synthesis of the chiral ligand. The configuration of the addition product depended on the configuration of the amino diol ligands, which can be simply controlled as desired by using the ECH with the desired configuration during the preparation of the ligand.     

Ionic liquids incorporating camphorsulfonamide units for the Ti-promoted asymmetric diethylzinc addition to benzaldehyde

New hydrophobic ionic liquids containing chiral camphorsulfonamide units were used as chiral auxiliaries in the titanium catalyzed asymmetric diethylzinc addition to benzaldehyde. The ionic catalyst system shows catalytic properties similar to those of related nonionic counterparts in terms of activity and enantioselectivity. Interestingly, the ionic ligands can easily be recycled and re-used without loss of activity or selectivity.     

The Challenge of Linear (E)‐Enones in the Rh‐Catalyzed,Asymmetric 1,4‐Addition Reaction of Phenylboronic Acid: A DFT Computational Analysis

Why are linear (E)‐enones such challenging substrates in the Rh‐catalyzed asymmetric arylation with boronic acids, which is one of the most important asymmetric catalysis methods? DFT computations show that these substrates adopt a specific conformation in which the largest substituent is antiperiplanar to Rh^I π‐complexed with the C?C bond within the enantioselectivity‐determining carborhodation transition state. Additionally, for such structures, there is a strong, but not exclusive, preference for s‐cis enone conformation. This folding minimizes steric interactions between the substrate and the ligand, and hence reduces the enantioselectivity. This idea is further confirmed by investigating three computation‐only substrate “probes”, one of which is capable of double asymmetric induction, and a recent computationally designed 1,5‐diene ligand. On average, excellent agreement between predicted and experimental enantioselectivity was attained by a three‐pronged approach: 1) thorough conformational search within ligand and substrate subunits to locate the most preferred carborhodation transition state; 2) including dispersion interaction and long‐range corrections by SMD/ωB97xD/DGDZVP level of theory; and 3) full substrate and ligand modeling. Based on the results, a theory‐enhanced enantioselectivity model that is applicable to both chiral diene and diphosphane ligands is proposed.     

New chiral thiols and C2-symmetrical disulfides of Cinchona alkaloids: ligands for the asymmetric Henry reaction catalyzed by CuII complexes

Seven Cinchona alkaloids were reacted with thioacetic acid and Bu₃P/diethyl diazadicarboxylate in THF at 0–25 °C to give the corresponding thiolacetates with complete inversion of configuration at the substitution center. The thus obtained chiral thiolesters were converted into thiols and these compounds were oxidized to the respective disulfides of C₂-symmetry. Both C-9 thioles and disulfides were tested as chiral ligands in the Cu-catalyzed asymmetric Henry reaction. When the thiol derivatives of an 8,9-like configuration were applied in the reaction of benzaldehyde and nitromethane, the obtained nitroaldol was of the same absolute configuration as the catalyst and the observed enantioselectivity was up to 83% ee. These ligands gave higher ees than the corresponding thioethers, disulfides, and thioles of 8,9-unlike configuration. The results obtained are in agreement with the proposed transition-state model involving nucleophilic attack of a deprotonated nitromethane directed preferably at one side of the O-complexed benzaldehyde.     

General and practical catalytic enantioselective Strecker reaction of ketoimines: significant improvement through catalyst tuning by protic additives

Significant improvement in enantioselectivity and catalyst activity was achieved for the catalytic enantioselective Strecker reaction. Using a catalyst (1-2.5 mol %) prepared from Gd(OⁱPr)₃ and d-glucose derived ligand 1, and in the presence of 2,6-dimethylphenol as an additive, high enantioselectivity was obtained from a wide range of ketoimines, including heteroaromatic and cyclic ketoimines. The new method was applied to an efficient catalytic asymmetric synthesis of sorbinil, a therapeutic agent for diabetic complications.     

不对称Reformatsky反应的研究

分别将催化计量和化学计量的(1R, 2S)或(1S, 2R)-2-氨基-1,2-二苯基乙醇衍生的手性氨基醇配体1应用于催化不对称Reformatsky反应, 研究了手性配体的结构及其用量与反应对映选择性的关系, 溶剂和底物改变对e.e.值的影响; 并设计与研究了双手性体系, 使该反应在催化量(25mol%)手性配体的作用下, 得到中等对映选择性; 另外, 还比较了不同的实验方法对反应的对映选择性的影响, 提出了手性催化循环机理和反应过渡态模型, 能较好地解释一系列实验事实。     

Chiral oxazoline-1,3-dithianes: new effective nitrogen–sulfur donating ligands in asymmetric catalysis

A series of new chiral oxazoline-1,3-dithianes has been easily synthesized and used as ligands for asymmetric catalysis. The conjugate addition of Et₂Zn to enones resulted in ees of up to 69%, whereas the Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation led to the expected products in almost quantitative yields and up to 90% enantioselectivity. The ligand’s conformation has been explored using a combination of X-ray and NMR measurements, indicating the presence of a remarkable anomeric effect, which accounts for the preference of the oxazoline ring for the axial location.     

De novo synthesis of Tamiflu via a catalytic asymmetric ring-opening of meso-aziridines with TMSN3

An asymmetric ring-opening reaction of meso-aziridines with TMSN3 was developed using a catalyst prepared from Y(OiPr)3 and chiral ligand 2 in a 1:2 ratio. Excellent enantioselectivity was realized from a wide range of substrates with a practical catalyst loading. The products were efficiently converted to enantiomerically enriched 1,2-diamines, which are versatile chiral building blocks for pharmaceuticals and chiral ligands. This reaction was applied to a catalytic asymmetric synthesis of Tamiflu, a very important anti-influenza drug containing a chiral 1,2-diamino functionality.     

Synthesis and applications in Henry reactions of novel chiral thiazoline tridentate ligands

Several novel chiral tridentate ligands containing thiazoline were efficiently synthesized from commercially available l=cysteine in high yield. These ligands were subsequently applied to the asymmetric Henry reaction of nitromethane and various aldehydes. It was found that the structures of the thiazoline ligands had a significant influence on the enantioselectivity. It was shown that the optimal catalyst for this reaction was a ligand complexed with CuCl, which was formed from chiral thiazoline with chiral aminoalcohol. At ?20°C, with 10 mol% of this ligand, a product with (S)‐configuration was isolated in 93% yield and 98% enantiomeric excess. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assembled dendritic titanium catalysts for enantioselective hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of aldehydes with Danishefsky's diene

A new type of dendritic 2-amino-2'-hydroxy-1,1'-binaphthyl (NOBIN)-derived Schiff-base ligands have been synthesized and applied to the titanium-catalyzed hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of Danishefsky's diene with aldehydes. These reactions afforded the corresponding 2-substituted 2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran-4-ones in quantitative yields and with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 97.2 % ee). The disposition of the dendritic wedges and the dendron size in the ligands were found to have significant impact on the enantioselectivity of the reaction. The recovered dendritic catalyst could be reused without further addition of the Ti source or a carboxylic acid additive for at least three cycles, retaining similar activity and enantioselectivity. The high stability of this type of assembled dendritic titanium catalyst may be attributed to the stabilization effect of large-sized dendron units in the catalyst molecule. The other important phenomenon observed with this catalyst system is that a higher degree of asymmetric amplification has been achieved by attachment of the dendron unit to the chiral ligand, which represents a new advantage of dendrimer catalysts for asymmetric reactions using chiral ligands of lower optical purity.     

Highly enantioselective michael additions of indole to benzylidene malonate using simple bis(oxazoline) ligands: importance of metal/ligand ratio

[Structure: see text] Simple bis(oxazoline) ligands, especially azabis(oxazolines), can catalyze the copper-catalyzed addition of indoles to benzylidene malonates in up to >99% ee, provided that excess of chiral ligand is avoided. The paradigm followed in many asymmetric catalyses that an excess of chiral ligand with respect to the metal should improve enantioselectivity because a background reaction by free metal is suppressed, is not applicable here, which might call for revisiting some of the many copper(II)-bis(oxazoline)-catalyzed processes known.     

Carboxylate ion dependency in the Cu(II) catalysed asymmetric Henry reaction: Structural characterisation of a tridentate Schiff base complex containing a coordinated carboxylic acid

Six tridentate Schiff base ligands containing tertiary butyl or benzyl substituents were prepared from chiral amino alcohols and salicylaldehyde derivatives. The ligands were employed as catalysts for the Cu(II) catalysed asymmetric Henry reaction. It was discovered that when different carboxylate salts were used instead of copper acetate as the Cu(II) salt, significant changes in the enantioselectivity of the reactions were observed. Addition of Cu(OAc)₂ to the ligand prepared from salicylaldehyde and α,α‐diphenyl‐tert ‐leucinol resulted in the formation of dark green crystals. X‐ray structural analysis of these crystals showed that a square planar monomeric complex had been formed rather than the expected dimer. In the structure, the copper(II) centre is bonded to the tridentate ONO ligand and an acetate ion. There is a strong hydrogen bond between the protonated alcoholic oxygen of the Schiff base ligand and the uncoordinated acetate oxygen atom. These results, taken together, indicate that the carboxylate anion may be an important part of the active intermediate when this type of copper complex is used as a catalyst in the asymmetric Henry reaction.     

Highly enantioselective ruthenium-catalyzed reduction of ketones employing readily available Peptide ligands

Highly efficient and selective catalysts for the asymmetric reduction of aryl alkyl ketones under hydrogen-transfer conditions (2-propanol) were obtained by combining a novel class of pseudo-dipeptide ligands with [[RuCl(2)(p-cymene)](2)]. A library of 36 dipeptide-like ligands was prepared from N-Boc-protected alpha-amino acids and the enantiomers of 2-amino-1-phenylethanol and 1-amino-2-propanol. The catalyst library was evaluated with the reduction of acetophenone and excellent enantioselectivity of 1-phenylethanol was obtained with several of the novel catalysts. A ligand based on the combination of N-Boc-L-alanine and (S)-1-amino-2-propanol (ligand A-(S)-4) was found to be particular effective. When the situ formed ruthenium complex of this ligand was employed as the catalyst in the hydrogen-transfer reaction of various aryl alkyl ketones, the corresponding alcohol products were achieved in excellent enantioselectivity (up to 98 % ee).     

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation using iminophosphine ligands derived from chiral primary 1-ferrocenylalkylamines

The palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of 1,3-diphenyl-2-propen-1-yl acetate 4 with dimethyl malonate in the presence of chiral iminophosphine ligands 3a–3d derived from chiral primary 1-ferrocenylalkylamines 1 and 2-(diphenylphosphino)benzaldehyde 2 was investigated. Excellent enantioselectivity (up to 97%) was achieved when ligand 3d was used. A mechanism for asymmetric induction in this reaction was proposed by theoretical modeling of the intermediate π-allylpalladium complexes.     

Asymmetric Kumada-Corriu cross-coupling reaction with Pd2(dba)3 and an N-Ar axially chiral mimetic-type ligand catalyst

A catalyst comprised of Pd₂(dba)₃·CHCl₃ and an N-Ar axially chiral mimetic-type ligand, (S)-N-[2-(diphenylphosphanyl)naphthalene-1-yl]-2-(piperidinylmethyl)piperidine, provides good enantioselectivities for the asymmetric Kumada-Corriu cross-coupling reaction of 1-phenylethylmagnesium chloride and E-β-bromostyrene derivatives with which it is more difficult to achieve high enantioselectivity. Furthermore, in the case of styrene derivatives bearing both vinyl and aryl bromide groups, the chemoselective asymmetric cross-coupling reaction of the vinyl bromide group is observed. This N-Ar axially chiral mimetic-type ligand allows easy synthesis of a wide variety of analogues, and starting from the initial ligand, the enantioselectivity of coupling products is improved by modifying the structure in the ligand.