A new catalytic mode of the modularly designed organocatalysts (MDOs): enantioselective synthesis of dihydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles

The enantioselective tandem Michael addition-cyclization reaction between 3-methyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one and benzylidenemalononitriles was studied with modularly designed organocatalysts (MDOs) to yield 6-amino-5-cyanodihydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles in high yields and moderate to good enantioselectivities. Most importantly, a new catalytic mode of the MDOs was established. Instead of being used as a nucleophile to form an enamine intermediate, the reaction center modules (amino acids) of the MDOs are now used as a Lewis base in this base-catalyzed reaction. Since there are more reactions catalyzed by Lewis bases than by the enamine mechanism, this finding greatly expands the scope of the MDOs in organic reactions. On the other hand, because the stereocontrolling modules (cinchona alkaloid derivatives) themselves may be used as Lewis base catalysts, this new method may also be viewed as an expeditious way for the modification of the reaction center of the cinchona alkaloid catalysts.     

Enantioselective Michael reaction of malonates to nitroolefins catalyzed by bifunctional organocatalysts

Michael reaction of malonates to nitroolefins with chiral bifunctional organocatalysts, bearing both a thiourea and tertiary amino group, afforded Michael adducts with high yields and enantioselectivities (up to 95%, up to 93% ee).     

Enantioselective reactions catalyzed by phosphine oxides

The development of chiral small organic molecules that serve as Lewis base catalysts promoting highly stereoselective transformations has been the subject of intense research over the past decades. As a matter of fact, among the plethora of molecules used as Lewis bases, chiral phosphine oxides have thoroughly been overlooked by the organic synthetic community. Thus, this review focuses exclusively on Lewis base catalysis mediated by chiral phosphine oxides with emphasis on mechanistic aspects, covering most of the publications related to this field since their first use as organocatalyst in 2005 until the end of March 2019.     

Enantioselective hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate catalyzed by PVP-stabilized rhodium nanoclusters

The enantioselective hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate catalyzed by polyvinylpyrrolidone-stabilized rhodium nanocluster (Rh/PVP) modified by cinchonidine and quinine was studied. The results show that cinchonidine and quinine not only can induce the enantioselectivity in the hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate, but also can greatly accelerate the reaction. Under the optimum conditions, 298 K, 5 MPa of hydrogen pressure and 4.3×10⁻³ mol/l of cinchonidine in tetrahydrofuran, the enantiomeric excess of R-(+)-ethyl lactate and turnover frequency (TOF) of ethyl pyruvate reach up to 42.2% e.e. and 941 h⁻¹, respectively. The rate of hydrogenation is faster by a factor of about 50 in the presence of cinchonidine than that without it. Quinine exhibits the similar effect.     

Enantioselective alkynylation of carbonyl compounds with trimethoxysilylalkynes catalyzed by lithium binaphtholate

Enantioselective alkynylation of aldehydes and ketones was accomplished using trimethoxysilylalkynes as alkynylating reagents and lithium 3,3′-diphenylbinaphtholate as a catalyst. Optically active propargylic alcohols were obtained in good to high chemical yields and enantioselectivities. Alkynylation of acetylpyridines afforded biologically active pyridyl propargylic alcohols in good enantioselectivities.     

Enantioselective cyanosilylation of ketones catalyzed by double-activation catalysts with N-oxides

Enantioselective addition of trimethylsilyl cyanide to ketones by a catalytic double-activation method is described. By combinatorially using 2.0 mol% of a chiral salen-titanium complex and 1.0 mol% of an achiral tertiary amine N-oxide, aromatic, aliphatic and α,β-unsaturated ketones are converted into corresponding cyanohydrin trimethylsilyl ethers with 50-93% yield and 59-86% ee. The effects of ligand structure, catalyst loading and substrate concentration, solvents, the nature of Lewis base, counter ion and other additives, temperature, and substrate structure on the enantioselectivity are discussed. Three possible paths to achieve the asymmetric version of double-activation catalysis and two independent examples of it are proposed.     

Synthesis of Axially Chiral QUINAP Derivatives by Ketone-Catalyzed Enantioselective Oxidation

QUINAPs have emerged as a pivotal class of axially chiral compounds with remarkable features in the stereoinduction of diverse enantioselective transformations. However, the confined substrate range and extravagant price still pose challenges, limiting their broader utilization. Herein, we describe the first atroposelective oxidation of an N atom using a chiral ketone catalyst, allowing the kinetic resolution of QUINAPOs to give both the unreacted substrates and their corresponding N-oxides with excellent enantioselectivity. Importantly, the enantioenriched products can be readily converted into the QUINAP targets without any loss of stereochemical integrity. Mechanistic investigations indicate that a dioxirane, generated through the oxidation of the ketone with oxone, acts as the active catalytic species. Furthermore, we have successfully extended this catalytic system to the kinetic resolution of QUINOLs and the dynamic kinetic transformation of pyridine analogues of QUINAPO possessing a labile stereogenic axis. The practicality of the developed protocol is further demonstrated by the successful application of QUINAPO N-oxide as a Lewis base catalyst in a series of enantioselective transformations.     

exo-selective asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction catalyzed by diamine salts as organocatalysts

[reaction: see text] A novel binaphthyl-based diamine (R)-2 was designed and synthesized. A protonic acid-(R)-2 salt catalyst has the advantage of exhibiting unprecedented high exo selectivity in the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes. For instance, the reaction between cinnamaldehyde and cyclopentadiene in the presence of 12 mol % of binaphthyl-based diamine (R)-2 and 10 mol % of p-TsOH.H(2)O in alpha,alpha,alpha-trifluorotoluene at -20 degrees C gave the corresponding exo cycloadduct with 92% ee as a major diastereomer (exo/endo = 13/1).     

Enantioselective Michael addition of alpha-substituted cyanoacetates to vinyl ketones catalyzed by bifunctional organocatalysts

A highly enantioselective Michael addition of alpha-substituted cyanoacetates to vinyl ketones was accomplished in the presence of simple bifunctional thiourea/tertiary amine organocatalysts. A number of alpha-aryl or alkyl cyanoacetates have been successfully applied to give multifunctional compounds with an all-carbon-substituted quaternary stereocenter in excellent enantioselectivities (82-97 % ee) and yields (61-99 %). The optical pure adducts could be smoothly converted to variously structured beta(2,2)-amino acid esters. Moreover, an interesting reaction model involving multiple hydrogen-bonding interactions amongst the thiourea/tertiary amine catalyst and the reactants has been proposed based on the absolute configuration of the adduct and computational studies.     

Enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes catalyzed by 5-cis-substituted proline derivatives

5-Cis-substituted prolinols, prolinamines, and prolinamine sulfonamides proved to be efficient ligands for the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes, providing up to 99% ee. The sense of asymmetric induction can be controlled by the nature of the exocyclic functional group (CPh₂OH vs. CH₂NHR vs. CH₂NHSO₃R). The additional 5-cis substituent exerts a strong beneficial effect on the chirality transfer since it rigidifies the catalyst structure. The stereochemical outcome of the reactions is discussed in detail on the respective transition states.     

Enantioselective silicon-boron additions to cyclic 1,3-dienes catalyzed by the platinum group metal complexes

Silaborations of 1,3-cyclohexadiene and 1,3-cycloheptadiene were achieved using catalysts prepared from different combinations of phosphorus ligands and group 10 metal compounds. For the six-membered compound, 1,4-adducts with up to 82% ee were obtained employing Pt(0) and phosphoramidite ligands. For the seven-membered diene optimal conditions were found using catalysts based on Ni(0), but the highest selectivity observed was merely 22% ee. No improvement of the chiral induction was obtained using chiral silylboranes in combination with chiral phosphoramidite ligands in the additions to 1,3-cyclohexadiene. The adduct obtained from cyclohexadiene was used in allylborations of aldehydes under microwave irradiation to produce homoallylic alcohols with moderate to good diastereoselectivity.     

Enantioselective intramolecular Rauhut-Currier reaction catalyzed by chiral phosphinothiourea

Chiral organophosphine-catalyzed enantioselective Rauhut-Currier reaction has been disclosed for the first time. With L-valine-derived phosphinothiourea, the intramolecular Rauhut-Currier reaction of bis(enones) was achieved in good yields (up to 99%) with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99.4% ee).     

Enantioselective trifluoromethylation of aromatic aldehydes catalyzed by combinatorial catalysts

A new combinatorial catalyst system containing the disodium (R)-binaphtholate prepared in situ and a chiral quaternary ammonium salt was developed for enantioselective trifluoromethylation of aromatic aldehydes in up to 71% ee. A possible intermediate for the binaphtholate activation of the TMSCF₃ and a catalytic cycle were proposed based on the experiments.     

Efficient oxidation of alcohols electrochemically mediated by azabicyclo-N-oxyls

Preparation of azabicyclo-N-oxyls and the electrochemical oxidation of alcohols using them as mediators have been exploited. This oxidation was applicable to a transformation of sterically hindered secondary alcohols into the corresponding ketones in high yields.     

Enantioselective Michael addition of 3-ethyl carboxylate substituted pyrazolones to 5-alkenyl thiazolones catalyzed by squaramide organocatalyst

Asymmetric Michael addition between 3-ethyl carboxylate substituted pyrazolones and 5-alkenylthiazolones catalyzed by a series of chiral bifunctional hydrogen bonding organocatalysts was investigated. Good yields (up to 96%) and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) were achieved by using a squaramide containing piperidine group derived from (1S, 2S)-cyclohexanediamine. This strategy provides facile access to a diverse library of thiazole-pyrazolone derivatives with potential bioactivity.     

Enantioselective oxidation of sulfides with hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by vanadium complex of sterically hindered chiral Schiff bases

Sterically hindered chiral Schiff base ligands 4a-d were prepared from an aldehyde derived from BINOL. The vanadium complexes of the ligands catalyze an efficient, enantioselective H₂O₂-promoted sulfoxidation of alkyl aryl sulfides, and enantioselectivities as high as 98-99% ee are observed in the sulfoxidation of benzyl aryl sulfides.     

Asymmetric Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction catalyzed by isophoronediamine-derived bis(thio)urea organocatalysts

New and improved bis(thio)urea catalysts were synthesized from isophoronediamine (IPDA) and tested in the Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction. The best results were achieved in the reaction of 2-cyclohexen-1-one with cyclohexanecarbaldehyde, using the catalyst depicted above, in combination with a novel base (N,N,N',N'-tetramethylisophoronediamine, TMIPDA) in toluene. The desired Morita-Baylis-Hillman product was obtained in 75% yield and 96% ee.     

Chemoselective reduction of aldehydes and ketones by potassium diisobutyl-t-butoxy aluminum hydride (PDBBA)

t-Butoxy derivatives of DIBALH [lithium diisobutyl-t-butoxyaluminum hydride (LDBBA), sodium diisobutyl-t-butoxyaluminum hydride (SDBBA), and potassium diisobutyl-t-butoxyaluminum hydride (PDBBA)] were examined as chemoselective reducing agents of carbonyl compounds. Among them, PDBBA was found to be the most efficient for the reduction of aldehydes and ketones to the corresponding alcohols in the presence of ester, amide, and nitrile substituents at ambient temperature. In addition, the optimal conditions gave higher chemoselectivity for aldehydes in the presence of ketones.     

Dodecatungestophosphoric acid (H3PW12O40) as a solid green BrØnsted acid catalyzes high yielding and efficient trimethylcyanosylilation reactions of aldehydes and ketones by trimethylsilyl cyanide

An efficient solvent-free method is described for the addition of TMSCN to carbonyl groups employing dodecatungestophosphoric acid (H₃PW₁₂O₄₀) as a heterogeneous and environmentally benign catalyst. By this method, aromatic, aliphatic, cyclic and heterocyclic aldehydes and ketones are converted into their corresponding cyanotrimethylsilyl ethers in excellent yields (89-98%) in short reaction times (<10 min).