Steric and electronic tuning of chiral bis(oxazoline) ligands with 3,3'-bithiophene backbone

[structure: see text] The role played by the electronic properties and the steric features of bis(oxazoline) ligands in the Cu(I)-catalyzed cyclopropanation of styrene effected with ethyl diazoacetate was investigated. Two pairs of new bis(oxazolines) displaying flexible and atropisomeric 3,3'-bithiophene backbones were synthesized and structurally and electronically characterized. For the first time, the electrochemical oxidative potential was used as a reliable index of the electronic density on the nitrogen atom of the chelating groups of new and, for comparative purposes, of already known bis(oxazolines). The Cu(I) complexes of the new ligands were prepared, and their enantioselection ability and catalytic efficiency were tested. This investigation suggests that steric factors and catalyst geometrical features are clearly more important than any consideration of the electronic properties of the chiral ligands.     

Rational tuning of the rigidity of a ligand scaffold: synthesis of diphenylsulfide-linked bis(oxazoline) ligands and their application in asymmetric allylic alkylation

The scaffold rigidity of bis(oxazoline) ligands was rationally tuned on the basis of literature information. Diphenylsulfide-linked bis(oxazoline) ligands with a flexible scaffold were efficiently synthesized to test our hypothesis. The improved enantioselectivity in palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation reaction was achieved as we expected.     

Modular synthesis of chiral pentadentate bis(oxazoline) ligands

Highly modular N,Y,Z,Y,N-ligands (Y=N, O, S; Z=N, NO, OH, OMe) have been prepared using bis(oxazoline) building blocks either as nucleophiles or as electrophiles in coupling reactions with central aromatic units. This way, a great variety of pentadentate bis(oxazoline) ligands in diastereo- and enantiomerically pure form become readily available, which are useful for the construction of helical metal complexes with predetermined chirality.     

Asymmetric Friedel-Crafts alkylation of indoles with 3-nitro-2H-chromenes catalyzed by diphenylamine-linked bis(oxazoline) and bis(thiazoline) Zn(II) complexes

An efficient diastereo- and enantioselective Friedel-Crafts alkylation of indoles with 3-nitro-2H-chromenes catalyzed by diphenylamine-linked bis(oxazoline) and bis(thiazoline) Zn(II) complexes has been developed. This asymmetric Friedel-Crafts alkylation led to medicinally privileged indolyl(nitro)chromans in good yields with high enantioselectivities (up to 95% ee) and diastereoselectivities under mild reaction conditions.     

glucoBox--a new carbohydrate-based bis(oxazoline) ligand. Synthesis and first application

The synthesis of a new bis(oxazoline) ligand from D-glucosamine and its application in enantioselective copper(I) catalysed cyclopropanations of olefins is described.     

Synthesis of highly modular bis(oxazoline) ligands by Suzuki cross-coupling and evaluation as catalytic ligands

New bis(oxazoline) ligands (BOXs) containing biaryl substitutents at the C-4 position and H or CH₂OR substituents at the C-5 position have been synthesized using Suzuki cross-coupling as the main tool for structural diversity. Copper, zinc, and palladium complexes of the prepared BOXs have been evaluated in the following catalytic asymmetric processes: Acylation with kinetic resolution of trans-1,2-cyclohexanediol (Cu), enantioselective Friedel-Crafts alkylation of indole (Zn), and enantioselective alkylation of 3-acetoxy-1,3-diphenylpropene (Pd).     

Modular bis(oxazoline) ligands for palladium catalyzed allylic alkylation: unprecedented conformational behaviour of a bis(oxazoline) palladium eta3-1,3-diphenylallyl complex

New families of enantiopure bis(oxazolines) with 4,5-trans (5 a-g) or 4,5-cis (6 c) stereochemistry at the individual rings have been prepared in high yield. Their eta(3)-allyl palladium complexes (8 a-g, 9 c and 10) have been used as catalytic precursors in allylic alkylation reactions with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 96 %) for the trans oxazoline derivatives, while Pd/6 c system was inactive. NMR studies on palladium eta(3)-1,3-diphenylallyl intermediates (11 a, c and e) showed the presence of syn/syn- and syn/anti-allyl isomers in solution; this resembles the first example of eta(3)-eta(1)-eta(3) isomerism in Pd allylic complexes containing bis(oxazolines) derived from malonic acid.     

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.     

The first synthesis of organic-inorganic hybrid materials with chiral bis(oxazoline) ligands

Condensation of tetraethoxysilane with silane-functionalized bis(oxazolines) in the presence of dodecylamine leads to hybrid materials whose textural and catalytic properties depend on both the ligand and the spacer structure.     

The application of bis(oxazoline) ligands in the catalytic enantioselective methallylation of aldehydes

A series of symmetric and non-symmetric bis(oxazoline) ligands were applied in the Nozaki-Hiyama-Kishi methallylation of a range of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes. A non-symmetrical ligand with tert-butyl/benzyl-substituted oxazolines provided the highest enantioselectivity of 99.5% for the methallylation of benzaldehyde.     

The synthesis of phosphine oxide-linked bis(oxazoline) ligands and their application in asymmetric allylic alkylation

The phosphine oxide-linked bis(oxazoline) ligands were designed and synthesized in two ways. One is the coupling of Grignard reagent derived from 2-(2-bromophenyl)oxazoline with phenylphosphonic dichloride, another route is the condensation of bis(2-formylphenyl)(phenyl)phosphine oxide with chiral amino alcohols followed by NBS oxidation. These new bis(oxazoline) ligands were applied in Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation reactions and good yields and enantioselectivities were obtained with diphenyl substituted ligand (up to 95% ee).     

Helical, nonracemic inorganic-organic hybrid polymers of cadmium halides with pentadentate bis(oxazoline) ligands

A chiral, nonracemic pentadentate pyridine bis(oxazoline) ligand forms unprecedented P-helical inorganic-organic hybrid polymers with cadmium halides. The one-dimensional chains consist of Lambda2-configured pentagonal-bipyramidal cadmium complexes with metal-centered chirality bridged by [CdX4]2- tetrahedra via shared halide atoms. In the solid state, the overall helicity exhibits strongly directed orientation parallel to the crystallographic axis a.     

Improved synthesis of aza-bis(oxazoline) ligands

A straightforward synthesis of chiral aza-bis(oxazoline) (Azabox) ligands from commercially available amino alcohols is described. The new protocol allows access to previously reported Azabox ligands in considerably improved yields but also to new derivatives, including non-C2-symmetrical ones.     

Coordination of a chiral tin(ii) cation bearing a bis(oxazoline) ligand with tetrahydrofuran derivatives

The reaction of SnCl(2) with the lithio derivative of a bis(oxazoline) ligand precursor afforded the enantiomeric chlorostannylene whose chloride ion can be substituted by several neutral or anionic Lewis donors. Abstraction of the chloride ion from the chlorostannylene with silver salts gave the corresponding tetrahydrofuran (THF) complexes of a chiral tin(ii) cation in 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) containing THF. That is, the reaction with silver hexafluoroantimonate (AgSbF(6)) afforded the THF complex without interaction with the counteranion. In contrast, reaction with silver triflate (AgOTf) gave the THF complex whose tin center had a pseudo-trigonal bipyramidal structure with two nitrogen atoms of a bidentate ligand and a lone pair at the equatorial positions and one of the oxygen atoms of triflate and an oxygen atom of THF at the apical positions in the solid state. Use of 3-methyltetrahydrofuran (3-MeTHF) instead of THF afforded the 3-MeTHF complexes, where the R-enantiomer of 3-MeTHF predominantly coordinates to the tin center. The previously reported germanium(ii) analogue of the tin(ii) cation indicated a similar enantioselectivity for the coordination of 3-MeTHF on the germanium center.     

Tuning ligand structure in chiral bis(phosphite) and mixed phosphite-phosphinite PCP-palladium pincer complexes

A range of chiral resorcinol bis(phosphite) and phosphite-phosphinite ligands were produced and their propensity to form palladium PCP-pincer complexes examined. The ease of base-assisted C-H palladation of the ligands falls in the order bis(phosphinite) > phosphite-phosphinite > bis(phosphite). The catalytic activity of the complexes in the asymmetric allylation of benzaldehyde with allyl tributyltin was examined and it was found that, contrary to expectations, ligands with 3,3'-disubstituted BINOL residues show poorer activity and stereoselectivity than unsubstituted BINOL analogues. In addition the order of activity of the pincer complexes was established as bis(phosphite) > phosphite-phosphinite > bis(phosphinite). Crystal structures of representative examples of a 3,3'-disubstituted BINOL, mono- and bis(phosphite) ligands based on 2,4-di-tert-butyl resorcinol and Pd complexes of two of the chiral complexes are presented.     

Malonate-type bis(oxazoline) ligands with sp hybridized bridge carbon: synthesis and application in Friedel-Crafts alkylation and allylic alkylation

A series of simple and new C₂-symmetric diphenylmethylidene malonate-type bis(oxazoline) ligands were synthesized and applied to the Friedel-Crafts reaction and allylic alkylation. The Cu(II) complex of ligand 4b bearing the benzyl group afforded good to excellent enantioselectivity for the F-C adducts (up to >99% ee) between indole and alkylidene malonate, and the palladium complex of ligand 4c bearing the phenyl group afforded excellent enantioselectivity (up to 94% ee) for the allylic alkylation product.     

Polymer-bound bis(oxazoline) as a chiral catalyst

A chiral bis(oxazoline) was grafted on ArgoGel and used in the palladium-catalysed substitution of (±)-1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate with dimethyl malonate. The enantioselectivity was the same as that observed when the analogous monomeric catalyst was used (94–95% e.e.), despite the fact that the C₂ symmetry of the ligand was affected when coupled to the polymer. The polymer-supported catalyst could be recycled several times after removal of precipitated Pd(0). The polymer-bound bis(oxazoline) was also applied in a zinc-catalysed Diels–Alder reaction but lower selectivity and reactivity than the monomer was observed.     

Catalytic effect and recyclability of imidazolium-tagged bis(oxazoline) based catalysts in asymmetric Henry reactions

Functional imidazolium ionic liquids have been developed as a new class of versatile catalysts. C(2)-symmetric imidazolium-tagged bis(oxazoline) ligands were prepared, and the anions of the ligands were altered. The catalysts based on the new ligands and Cu(OAc)(2)·H(2)O were applied in asymmetric Henry reactions between various aldehydes 3 and CH(3)NO(2)4. The catalysts achieved a high level of enantioselectivity; product (R)-5n was attained at 94% ee in MeOH. Moreover, the catalyst could be recycled 6 times without an obvious loss of activity or enantioselectivity. In addition, a theoretical mechanistic study was conducted to explain the origin of the enantioselectivity.