Asymmetric epoxidation catalyzed by novel azacrown ether-type chiral quaternary ammonium salts under phase-transfer catalytic conditions

Asymmetric epoxidation of (E)-chalcone with alkaline hydrogen peroxide by novel chiral phase-transfer catalysts (chiral PTCs) with quaternary ammonium salts of azacrown ether proceeded in high yield and good enantioselectivity. Remarkably, this reaction depended on the length of the carbon chain on the nitrogen atom with the chiral PTCs and on the bulk of the base.     

An air-stable chiral Hf-based catalyst for asymmetric Mannich-type reactions

A new class of isolable, air-stable, storable, and Hf-based catalyst has been developed. In the presence of 10 mol % of the powdered Hf catalyst, the asymmetric Mannich-type reactions of imines with silicon enolates derived from esters proceeded smoothly to afford the corresponding Mannich-type adducts in high yields with high enantioselectivities. Hafnium single crystals for X-ray analysis were obtained, and the crystals also showed high performance in the asymmetric Mannich-type reactions.     

Enantioselective reactions of tert-butyl glycinate-benzophenone Schiff base catalyzed by chiral phase-transfer catalyst in aqueous media without any organic solvent

Chiral phase-transfer catalyzed enantioselective alkylations of tert-butyl glycinate-benzophenone Schiff base were investigated in aqueous media without any organic solvent. Reactions in aqueous media smoothly proceeded to give the desired product in higher yield than under standard liquid-liquid biphasic conditions. In aqueous media the formation of benzophenone, which was caused by in situ hydrolysis of Schiff base, was depressed.     

Synthesis of a selective estrogen receptor β-modulator via asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis

An efficient asymmetric synthesis of selective estrogen receptor β-modulator (S)-4-bromo-9a-butyl-8-chloro-6-fluoro-7-hydroxy-1,2,9,9a-tetrahydro-fluoren-3-one was developed. The route features a chemoselective aromatic chlorination reaction, an asymmetric phase-transfer-catalyzed alkylation of an indanone with efficient ee upgrade by racemate crystallization, and a robust bromination reaction using imidazole as an in situ bromine trap to avoid overreaction. The synthesis proceeds in 34% yield over 8 steps from 2-fluoroanisole, and provides material with >99.5% ee.     

Asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis of homo- and heterochiral quaternary ammonium salts: development and application of conformationally flexible chiral phase-transfer catalysts

Inspired by the considerable difference of catalytic activity and stereocontrolling ability between the conformationally rigid, homo- and heterochiral quaternary ammonium bromides 1, conformationally flexible, N-spiro chiral quaternary ammonium bromides of type 4 have been designed and synthesized. Reliable procedures for the preparation of the appropriately substituted biphenyl subunits have been established by the repeated use of ortho magnesiation-halogenation as a key synthetic tool. The relationship between the structure of achiral biphenyl moiety and the reactivity and selectivity of 4 has been evaluated in the asymmetric alkylation of glycinate Schiff base 2 under typical phase-transfer conditions, leading to the identification of 4l as an optimal catalyst structure to exhibit an excellent enantiocontrol in the reactions with various alkyl halides. The molecular structure of 4l was determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis and its unique behavior in solution was examined by a variable-temperature ¹H NMR study. These investigations uncovered that the observed high chiral efficiency originated from the efficient asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis of homochiral-4l, which rapidly equilibrated with heterochiral-4l of low catalytic activity and stereoselectivity.     

The synthesis and applications of asymmetric phase-transfer catalysts derived from isomannide and isosorbide

We report herein the synthesis of various derivatives of isomannide and isosorbide. Alkylation on N-(diphenylmethylene)glycine tert-butyl ester show the new catalysts to be effective phase-transfer catalysts with moderately good enantioselectivity. The effect of exo and endo substituents on the enantioselectivity of alkylation reaction have also been studied.     

Development of new asymmetric two-center catalysts in phase-transfer reactions

A new asymmetric two-center phase-transfer catalyst was designed and a catalyst library containing more than 40 new two-center catalysts was constructed. The catalysts were applied in phase-transfer alkylations and Michael additions to afford the corresponding products in up to 93% ee and 82% ee, respectively.     

d-Mannitol-derived novel chiral thioureas: Synthesis and application in asymmetric Henry reactions

Five novel thioureas have been obtained through multi-step reactions from d-Mannitol as starting material and applied as catalysts in the asymmetric Henry reaction. Using catalyst 7a, (1S,2R)-2-nitro-1-phenylpropan-1-ol containing two chiral centers was obtained in high yield and with high selectivity (up to 95% yield, 87% ee, 91:9 dr). This catalyst also retained activity in the presence of water, affording a up to 93% yield, 88% ee, and 94:6 dr.     

Ir-catalyzed asymmetric allylic amination using chiral diaminophosphine oxides

An Ir-catalyzed asymmetric allylic amination using chiral diaminophosphine oxide is described. Asymmetric allylic amination of terminal allylic carbonates proceeded in the presence of 2 mol % of Ir catalyst, 2 mol % of chiral diaminophosphine oxide, 5 mol % of NaPF₆, and BSA, affording the chiral branched allylic amines in up to 95% ee.     

Combining chiral elements in asymmetric phase-transfer catalysts: styrene oxide and chiral α,α-disubstituted pyrroline and piperidine derived structures

A new asymmetric phase-transfer catalyst, designed by combining the chiral building blocks styrene oxide and 2,5-dimethylpyrroline, is described. Catalytic testing using standard glycine imino ester alkylations shows good yields and moderate to good enantioselectivities with a surprising change in enantioselectivity over the course of the reaction. Alkylation of the β-hydroxyl group lead to catalysts with improved selectivity and a larger change in enantioselectivity during the reaction.     

Design of novel polymer-supported chiral catalyst for asymmetric transfer hydrogenation in water

New polymer-supported chiral sulfonamides containing sulfonated pendant group have been synthesized. Chiral catalyst prepared from the new polymer-support is more effective for asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of aromatic ketones in water compared to that prepared from conventional polystyrene-support. Polymer-supported catalysts containing quaternary ammonium salt as a pendant increased not only the reactivity but also the enantioselectivity in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation in water. Moreover, this type of polymer can be reused without loss of the catalytic activity.     

Catalytic asymmetric phase-transfer reactions using tartrate-derived asymmetric two-center organocatalysts

A new highly versatile asymmetric two-center catalyst, tartrate-derived diammonium salt (TaDiAS), was designed and a catalyst library containing more than 70 new two-center catalysts was constructed. A variety of (S,S)- and (R,R)-TaDiAS were easily synthesized from diethyl l- and d-tartrate, respectively, using common and inexpensive reagents under operationally simple reaction conditions. TaDiAS was used in phase-transfer alkylations and Michael additions to afford various optically active α-amino acid equivalents in up to 93% yield. Moreover, dramatic counter anion effects were observed in phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) for the first time, making it possible to further improve reactivity and selectivity. These findings validate the usefulness of three-dimensional fine-tuning of the catalyst (acetal, Ar, and counter anion) for optimization. Recovery and reuse of the catalyst was also possible using simple procedures. The present asymmetric PTC was successfully applied to enantioselective syntheses of serine protease inhibitor aeruginosin 298-A and its analogues.     

Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of glycine imino ester using a chiral phase-transfer catalyst

Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of the glycine imino ester 1a has been developed using a chiral quaternary ammonium salt 3d without chiral phosphine ligands. The proper choice of the achiral Pd ligand, P(OPh)3, is important to achieve high enantioselectivity. By this method with the dual catalysts, numerous enantiomerically enriched alpha-allylic amino acids 4a-h could be prepared with comparable to higher enantioselectivity than that of the conventional asymmetric alkylation of 1a. In addition, the Pd-catalyzed reaction of 1a with 1-phenyl-2-propenyl acetate 2i afforded the branch product 6 with high enantio- and diastereoselectivity (>95% de, 85% ee).     

Chiral phosphine-free Pd-mediated asymmetric allylation of prochiral enolate with a chiral phase-transfer catalyst

[reaction: see text]. A chiral phase-transfer catalyst has been applied to the asymmetric allylation of the tert-butyl glycinate-benzophenone Schiff base with various allylic acetates for the first time to give the allylated products in good yields and with comparable to higher enantioselectivity than for asymmetric alkylation at the same temperature (91-96% ee) without any chiral ligands for coordinating to the palladium.     

Combinatorial chemistry approach to chiral catalyst engineering and screening: rational design and serendipity

An efficient asymmetric catalyst relies on the successful combination of a large number of interrelated variables, including rational design, intuition, persistence, and good fortune-not all of which are necessarily well-understood; this renders such practice largely empirical. As a result, the possibility of using combinatorial chemistry methods in asymmetric catalysis research has been widely recognized to be highly desirable. In this account, we attempt to show the principle and application of combinatorial approach in the discovery of chiral catalysts for enantioselective reactions. The concept focuses on the strategy for the creation of a modular chiral catalyst library by two-component ligand modification of metal ions on the basis of molecular recognition and assembly. The self-assembled chiral catalyst with two different ligands indeed exhibited synergistic effects in terms of both enantioselectivity and activity in comparison with its corresponding homocombinations in many reactions. The examples described in this paper demonstrated the powerfulness of combinatorial approach for the discovery of novel chiral catalyst systems, particularly for the development of highly efficient, enantioselective, and practical catalysts for enantioselective reactions. We hope this concept will stimulate further work on the discovery of more highly efficient and enantioselective catalysts, as well as unexpected classes of catalysts or catalytic enantioselective reactions in the future with the help of a combinatorial chemistry approach.     

Access to chiral tertiary amines via the iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of enamines

The asymmetric hydrogenation of N,N-dialkyl and N-alkyl-N-aryl enamines to chiral tertiary amines was studied. All the N,P-ligated iridium complexes investigated were active catalysts for the reaction, but only those with bicycle-supported oxazoline-phosphine ligands gave reasonable stereoinduction. The best catalyst produced a range of chiral tertiary amines in up to 87% ee.     

Optically active ruthenium porphyrins: chiral recognition and asymmetric catalysis

The current applications of ruthenium porphyrins in stoichiometric and catalytic asymmetric reactions are reported. Chiral recognition of racemic phosphines, isocyanides and amino esters has been studied by ¹H-NMR. Experimental investigations of the oxidation mechanism of racemic phosphines and amino esters are described. The stereochemistry of catalytic asymmetric oxidation and cyclopropanation of olefins with optically active ruthenium porphyrins are also discussed.     

Rh-catalysed asymmetric hydrogenations with a dynamic library of chiral tropos phosphorus-ligands

A library of 16 chiral tropos phosphorus-ligands, based on a chiral P-bound alcohol or secondary amine and a flexible (tropos) P-bound biphenol unit, was synthesised. This ligand library allowed the screening of 16 homocombinations and 115 heterocombinations for the rhodium catalysed asymmetric hydrogenation of methyl N-acetamido acrylate. The screening resulted in the identification of a phosphite/phosphoramidite heterocombination, which proved to be extremely effective and enantioselective (100% yield, 94% ee).