Highly enantioselective rhodium-catalyzed conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to enones at room temperature

The rhodium-phosphoramidite-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to enones proceeds at room temperature using [Rh(OH)(cod)]₂ or [RhCl(cod)]₂/KOH as stable and readily available catalyst precursors.     

Copper-catalyzed enantioselective conjugate addition of grignard reagents to acyclic enones

A highly enantioselective Cu-catalyzed addition of Grignard reagents to acyclic aliphatic enones is described. In the presence of 5 mol % of CuBr.SMe2 and 6 mol % of JosiPhos diphosphine aliphatic enones react with Grignard reagents to provide beta-substituted linear ketones with high yields, regio-, and enantioselectivities.     

Highly enantioselective copper-catalyzed conjugate addition of diethylzinc to cyclic enones with spirocyclic phosphoramidite ligands

A series of spirocyclic phosphoramidite ligands 6-9 with different substituents on the amine moiety were synthesized from the chiral spirocyclic diol (R)-5. These monodentate ligands have been applied in copper-catalyzed conjugate addition of diethylzinc to cyclic enones. Excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) can be achieved by the use of ligand (R,S,S)-9 bearing stereochemically matched structure derived from the C₂-symmetric (S,S)-bis(α-methylbenzyl)amine.     

Cu-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate additions of alkylzinc reagents to acyclic aliphatic enones

Cu-catalyzed enantioselective conjugate additions to acyclic aliphatic enones are reported. The resulting enolates may be functionalized intra- and intermolecularly, leading to the formation of an additional C-C bond. The utility of the present method is not limited to reactions involving Et2Zn; a variety of alkylzincs may be used. Moreover, many of the requisite substrates can be easily accessed through catalytic olefin cross metathesis.     

Efficient cu-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate additions of alkylzincs to trisubstituted cyclic enones

The first examples of efficient catalytic asymmetric conjugate addition (ACA) of alkylzincs to trisubstituted cyclic enones is disclosed. These Cu-catalyzed reactions proceed efficiently with five- and seven-membered ring substrates to afford the desired products in >/=95% ee. Intermediate enolates can be trapped with alkyl halides to generate a quaternary stereogenic center. The requisite chiral ligand is prepared from commercially available materials and can be used in situ without further purification in the presence of commercial grade (CuOTf)2.PhMe.     

Highly enantioselective conjugate addition of diethylzinc to enones using aziridine-functionalized tridentate sulfinyl ligands

Enantiomerically pure tridentate heteroorganic catalysts, containing hydroxyl, sulfinyl, and aziridine moieties, have proven to be highly efficient in the enantioselective conjugate diethylzinc addition to chalcone and cyclohexenone to give the desired products in very high yields (up to 95%) and with ee’s up to 93%. The influence of the stereogenic centers located on the sulfinyl sulfur atom and in the aziridine moiety on the stereochemical course of the reaction is discussed.     

Highly enantioselective conjugate addition of diethylzinc to acyclic enones with fine-tunable phosphite-pyridine ligands

A new series of fine-tunable phosphite-pyridine (P,N) ligands derived from (S)-2-amino-2'-hydroxy-6,6'-dimethyl-1,1'-biphenyl and (S)-2-amino-2'-hydroxy-4,4',6,6'-tetramethyl-1,1'-biphenyl was employed in Cu(I)-catalyzed conjugate addition of diethylzinc to acyclic enones. Excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee) and highly catalytic activities were achieved for a variety of acyclic enones.     

Copper-catalyzed enantioselective conjugate addition of dialkylzinc reagents to enones with new peptidyl phosphane ligands

Copper catalysts based on new peptidyl phosphane ligands have been developed for enantioselective conjugate additions of dialkylzinc reagents to cyclic enones. Enantioselectivities greater than 97% ee have been observed.     

Copper-catalyzed enantioselective conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to acyclic enones using monodentate phosphoramidite ligands

Herein, we report efficient catalysts based on phosphoramidites for the asymmetric copper-catalyzed conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to acyclic α,β-unsaturated ketones. A variety of Grignard reagents can be added to aliphatic and aromatic acyclic enones with good yields and moderate to good enantioselectivities.     

Enantioselective one-pot conjugate addition of grignard reagents to cyclic enones followed by amidomethylation

Enantioselective conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to enones, catalyzed by Cu-Taniaphos or Josiphos complex, affords chiral enolates. Ensuing one-pot Mannich reaction with TiCl(4)-generated imine leads to aminocarbonyl compounds with benzyloxycarbonyl-protected nitrogen. Both diastereomers of these compounds are isolated in moderate yields but high enantiomeric purities (up to er 97.5:2.5).     

A catalytic enantioselective conjugate addition of cyanide to enones

The first synthetically useful catalytic enantioselective conjugate addition of cyanide to enones is described. The optimized conditions involved a Gd catalyst (5 or 10 mol %) derived from ligands 3 or 4 and a 1:1 ratio of TBSCN and 2,6-dimethylphenol. The reaction exhibited excellent to high enantioselectivity and a wide substrate scope. Moreover, the 1,4-adduct was exclusively produced over the 1,2-adduct. The complete regioselectivity was due both to stabilization of the 1,4-selective silylated polymetallic catalyst (7) using a TBS group and the ability of the asymmetric catalyst to promote retro-cyanation from the 1,2-adduct.     

Highly versatile enantioselective conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to alpha,beta-unsaturated thioesters

Herein, we report efficient catalysts for the asymmetric copper-catalyzed conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to alpha,beta-unsaturated thioesters. MeMgBr adds to aromatic alpha,beta-unsaturated thioesters with excellent enantioselectivities and moderate to good yields using Josiphos/CuBr and Tol-BINAP/CuI complexes. The use of bulky Grignard reagents leads to unprecedented enantioselectivities in the 1,4-addition to a broad range of aromatic and aliphatic alpha,beta-unsaturated thioesters using Tol-BINAP/CuI. The highest enantioselectivities reported so far for the addition of Grignard reagents to crowded beta-substituted aliphatic substrates are achieved with Tol-BINAP/CuI.     

Highly enantioselective copper-catalyzed conjugate addition of diethylzinc to enones using chiral spiro phosphoramidites as ligands

Novel monodentate chiral spiro phosphoramidite ligands have been readily synthesized in good yields from enantiomerically pure 1,1'-spirobiindane-7,7'-diol. The new ligands were highly efficient in the copper-catalyzed conjugate addition of Et(2)Zn to enones with up to 98% enantiomeric excess.     

Highly enantioselective conjugate addition of AlMe3 to linear aliphatic enones by a designed catalyst

2-Hydroxy-2'-alkylthio-1,1'-binaphthyl compounds are catalytic promoters of the 1,4-addition of AlMe(3) to linear aliphatic enones in THF at -40 to -48 degrees C in the presence of [Cu(MeCN)(4)]BF(4). At ligand loadings of 5-20 mol %, enantioselectivities of 80-93 % are realised for most substrates. To attain these values, the use of highly pure AlMe(3) is mandatory. The presence of methylalumoxane (MAO), derived by hydrolysis, leads to reduced enantioselectivity and a conjugate addition product.     

Highly enantioselective and regioselective copper-catalyzed 1,4 addition of grignard reagents to cyclic enynones

In this letter we describe an unusual result in terms of regioselectivity with respect to copper-catalyzed conjugate additions of various Grignard reagents to cyclic enynones. The use of Cu(OTf)(2) and NHC ligand L1 as the catalyst combination in CH(2)Cl(2) led to the unique formation of the 1,4 adduct. This selectivity does not follow the general trend previously observed in the literature using extended Michael acceptors. Moreover these reactions allowed for the creation of a quarternary stereogenic center with enantioselectivities up to 97% ee.     

A practical asymmetric conjugate addition to cyclic enones with chiral bifunctional Ru amido catalysts

A practical asymmetric C-C bond formation to synthetically useful β-chiral cyclic ketones (>99% ee) using bifunctional chiral amido Ru catalysts under an S/C = 1000, the highest ratio achieved so far in the literature for this class of reactions, is described. The catalytic reactivity decreases in the order of Ru(Msdpen)(hmb) > Ru(Pfbsdpen)(hmb) > Ru(Tsdpen)(hmb) > Ru(PMsdpen)(hmb), where Ru(Pfbsdpen)(hmb) is a newly developed chiral bifunctional catalyst. Complex Ru(Msdpen)(hmb) was identified as the best in terms of reactivity and enantioface selectivity, whereas Ru(PMsdpen)(hmb) gave unsatisfactory results. An importance of the NH proton in the bifunctional catalyst for determining the enantioselectivity has been experimentally demonstrated. Valuable information for the reaction mechanism was accumulated.     

Asymmetric addition of alkylzinc reagents to cyclic alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones and a tandem enantioselective addition/diastereoselective epoxidation with dioxygen

Although over 100 catalysts have been reported to catalyze the asymmetric addition of alkyl groups to aldehydes, these catalysts fail to promote additions to ketones with >90% enantioselectivity. This paper describes the asymmetric 1,2-addition of alkyl groups to conjugated cyclic enones to give allylic alcohols with chiral quaternary centers. The resultant allylic alcohols are converted into epoxy alcohols with excellent diastereoselectivities. Treatment of the epoxy alcohols with BF3.OEt2 induces a semipinacol rearrangement to provide alpha,alpha-dialkyl-beta-hydroxy ketones with all-carbon chiral quaternary centers. We also report a one-pot procedure for the asymmetric addition/diastereoselective epoxidation reaction. Simply exposing the reaction mixture to dioxygen after the asymmetric addition reaction is complete results in epoxidation of the allylic alcohol with high diastereoselectivity.