Regio- and enantioselective iridium-catalyzed intermolecular allylic etherification of achiral allylic carbonates with phenoxides

An enantioselective and regioselective iridium-catalyzed allylic etherification is described. The reaction of sodium and lithium aryloxides with achiral (E)-cinnamyl and terminal aliphatic allylic electrophiles in the presence of 2 mol % of an iridium-phosphoramidite complex provides chiral allylic aryl ethers in high yields and excellent levels of regio- and enantioselectivity. Lithium aryloxides containing a single substituent at an ortho, meta, or para position as well as sterically hindered phenoxides were tolerated. Reactions in THF displayed the most suitable balance of rate, regio-, and enantioselectivity. High ee's were also observed for the products from the reaction of alkyl (E)-allylic carbonates.     

Regio- and enantioselective iridium-catalysed allylic aminations and alkylations of dienyl esters

Regio- and enantioselective iridium-catalysed allylic aminations and alkylations of dienyl substrates are presented; using phosphorus amidite L1 as ligand, aminations provided ee values of up to 97% and alkylations of up to 90%.     

Asymmetric allylic amination in water catalyzed by an amphiphilic resin-supported chiral palladium complex

[reaction: see text] Catalytic asymmetric allylic amination of cycloalkenyl carbonates (methyl cyclohexen-2-yl carbonate, methyl cyclohepten-2-yl carbonate, methyl 5-methoxycarbonylcyclohexen-2-yl carbonate, methyl cyclohexenyl carbonate, tert-butyl 5-methoxycarbonyloxy-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridinedicarboxylate) with dibenzylamines ((C6H5CH2)2NH, (C6H5CH2)(4-CH3OC6H4CH2)NH, (4-CH3OC6H4CH2)2NH) was achieved in water under heterogeneous conditions by use of a palladium complex of (3R,9aS)-3-[2-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl]-2-phenyltetrahydro-1H-imidazo[1,5-a]indole-1-one anchored on polystyrene-poly(ethylene glycol) copolymer resin to give the corresponding cycloalkenylamines with high enantiomeric selectivity (90-98% ee).     

Iridium complex-catalyzed allylic amination of allylic esters

Iridium complex-catalyzed allylic amination of allylic carbonates was studied. The solvent strongly affected the catalytic activity. The use of a polar solvent such as EtOH is essential for obtaining the products in high yield. The reaction of (E)-3-substituted-2-propenyl carbonate and 1-substituted-2-propenyl carbonate with pyrrolidine in the presence of a catalytic amount of [Ir(COD)Cl](2) and P(OPh)(3) (P/Ir = 2) gave a branch amine with up to 99% selectivity. Both secondary and primary amines could be used for this reaction. When a primary amine was used, selective monoallylation occurred. No diallylation product was obtained. The reaction of 1,1-disubstituted-2-propenyl acetate with amines exclusively gave an alpha,alpha-disubstituted allylic amine. This reaction provides an alternative route to the addition of an organometallic reagent to ketimines for the preparation of such amines. The reaction of (Z)-3-substituted-2-propenyl carbonate with amines gave (Z)-linear amines with up to 100% selectivity. In all cases, no (E)-linear amine was obtained. The selectivities described here have not been achieved in similar palladium complex-catalyzed reactions.     

Direct, enantioselective iridium-catalyzed allylic amination of racemic allylic alcohols

The direct route: Iridium-catalyzed direct conversion of branched allylic alcohols into enantioenriched branched primary allylic amines is highly regio- and enantioselective (see scheme; coe=cyclooctene).     

Copper catalyzed enantioselective allylic substitution by MeMgX

Methyl Grignard undergoes highly regio (>90/10) and enantioselective (ee 91-96%) copper catalyzed allylic substitution on cinnamyl-type chlorides. CuBr (3%) and 3.3% of a chiral phosphoramidite ligand are sufficient for a complete reaction. The synthesis of a precursor of (+)-Naproxen is described. The reaction can be extended to alkyl substituted allylic chlorides (ee 72%).     

Palladium complex catalyzed acylation of allylic esters with acylsilanes.

Acylation of allylic esters (2) with acylsilanes (1) in the presence of a catalytic amount (5 mol %) of a palladium complex is reported. The reaction proceeds selectively to afford beta,gamma-unsaturated ketones (3) in high yields. [Pd(eta3-C6H5CH=CHCH2)(CF3COO)]2 (4a) showed the best catalytic activity. After the reaction, formation of CF3COOSiMe3 (5a) was confirmed by 29Si NMR measurement of the resulting reaction mixture, indicating the trimethylsilyl moiety effectively traps the CF3COO leaving group from 2. The leaving group of the allylic esters affects the reaction considerably: allylic trifluoroacetate gave the best result, while the corresponding acetates and trichloroacetates did not afford any acylation products at all. Stoichiometric reaction of 4a with 1 gave acylation product 3 with a formation of 5a and Pd(0), whereas no acylation reaction took place with the corresponding acetate complex [Pd(eta3-C6H5CH=CHCH2)(CH3COO)]2 (4b). A DFT calculation suggests that interaction of high-lying HOMO of 1 and low-lying LUMO of eta3-allylpalladium trifluoroacetate intermediate 4 would be indispensable in the catalytic cycle.     

Regio- and enantioselective hydrolysis of phenyloxiranes catalyzed by soluble epoxide hydrolase

The regio- and enantioselective hydrolysis of several phenyloxiranes catalyzed by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) was investigated using recombinant human, mouse or cress sEH. Results indicate that human and mouse sEH enantioselectively hydrolyze (S,S)-alkyl-phenyloxiranes faster than the (R,R)-alkyl-phenyloxiranes investigated in this study, while cress sEH displayed opposite enantioselectivity. Preparation of pure (2R,3R)-3-phenylglycidol from the racemic mixture was achieved with a 31% yield using human sEH as catalyst. The sEH enzymes were found to be regioselective at the benzylic carbon of the phenyloxiranes, supporting the proposed mechanism in which one or more tyrosine residues in the active site of the enzyme act as a general acid catalyst in the alkylation half reaction.     

Regio- and enantioselective allylic substitution with less active N- or O-nucleophiles catalyzed by iridium-complex of bis(oxazolinyl)pyridine

The utility of hydroxylamines as nitrogen nucleophiles was investigated in the iridium-catalyzed regio- and enantioselective allylic substitution. Allylic substitution with hydroxylamines proceeded with good enantioselectivities by using the iridium-complex of bis(oxazolinyl)pyridine ligand. The good regio- and enantioselectivities were also achieved in the reaction with alkylamines, p-anisidine, and 4-methoxyphenol.     

Highly regio- and enantioselective palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation and amination of dienyl esters with 1,1'-P,N-ferrocene ligands

[reaction, structure: see text] Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of dienyl acetates 1 and amination of allyl acetates 2 provides the corresponding chiral products in high regio- and enantioselectivities using 1,1'-P,N-ferrocenes L1a and L2d as ligands, respectively.     

Synthesis of chiral oxime ethers based on regio- and enantioselective allylic substitution catalyzed by iridium-pybox complex

The oxygen atom of oximes acts as a reactive nucleophile in the iridium-catalyzed allylic substitution of unsymmetrical substrates to give the branched oxime ethers. Among several chiral ligands evaluated, the iridium complex of pybox ligand having phenyl group catalyzed the allylic substitution of phosphates with high activity to form the branched oxime ethers with good enantioselectivities.     

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.     

Regio- and enantioselective Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation of ketones through allyl enol carbonates

The Pd-catalyzed reorganization of enol allyl carbonates to allylated ketones occurs asymmetrically in the presence of chiral ligands previously developed in this group. With 2-methylcyclohexanone, asymmetric regioselective alkylation occurs at the more substituted carbon without complications of polyalkylation. Alkylation to create quaternary centers in indanones and benzonabenone occurs in much higher ee than using tin or lithium enolates. The sense of enantioinduction in tetralones is opposite from the tin and lithium enolate examples. For the first time, asymmetric creation of tertiary centers occurs with high ee (78-99%). The different results between this reaction and the use of lithium or tin enolates suggest different mechanisms may be involved.     

Palladium-catalyzed chemo- and enantioselective oxidation of allylic esters and carbonates

The palladium-catalyzed oxidation of allylic esters and carbonates using a novel potassium nitronate has been developed. This method is highly chemoselective, leaving other esters, alcohols, thioethers, and amines undisturbed. The oxidation can be operated in two modes: an achiral mode, using either PPh3 or rac-2 as ligand, or a chiral and highly enantioselective mode, using 2 as ligand. The oxidative enantioselective desymmetrization of meso bis-esters provides a significantly shorter method to arrive at commonly used synthetic intermediates compared to other strategies. Highly efficient kinetic resolution is also possible using this methodology.     

Synthesis of enol and vinyl esters catalyzed by an iridium complex

Enol and vinyl esters were successfully synthesized by the use of an iridium complex as a catalyst. The reaction of carboxylic acids with terminal alkynes in the presence of catalytic amounts of [Ir(cod)Cl]₂ and Na₂CO₃ gave the corresponding 1-alkenyl esters. The addition of carboxylic acids to alkynes principally took place in the Markovnikov fashion. In addition, by the use of an Ir complex combined with NaOAc various vinyl esters were prepared through the transvinylation between carboxylic acids and vinyl acetate.     

Highly enantioselective syntheses of heterocycles via intramolecular Ir-catalyzed allylic amination and etherification

[reaction: see text] Enantioselective Ir-catalyzed intramolecular allylic aminations and etherifications are described. Up to 97% ee was achieved using catalysts prepared by in situ activation of mixtures of phosphorus amidites and [Ir(COD)Cl]2. Sequential aminations of bis-allylic carbonates, involving an inter- followed by an intramolecular reaction, gave trans-N-benzyl-2,5-divinylpyrrolidine and trans-N-benzyl-2,6-divinylpiperidine with > or = 99% ee. New phosphorus amidites as well as improved conditions for intermolecular aminations are reported.