Me‐bipam for Enantioselective Ruthenium(II)‐Catalyzed Arylation of Aldehydes with Arylboronic Acids

Ligand design by‐pam : A ruthenium‐catalyzed asymmetric arylation of aldehydes with arylboronic acids has been developed, giving chiral diarylmethanols in good yields. The use of a chiral bidentate phosphoramidite ligand ((R,R)‐Me‐bipam) led to excellent enantioselectivities.

     

Enantioselective Addition of Dialkylzincs to Aldehydes Catalyzed by (−)‐MITH

An effective catalytic system that imparts high enantioselectivity has been disclosed for the synthesis of optically active alcohols, which may undergo further chemical transformations. The enantioselective alkylation of aldehydes with dialkylzincs to afford the corresponding optically active alcohols with excellent enantioselectvities has been achieved in the presence of 0.1–0.5 mol % of the camphor‐derived chiral ligand (?)‐2‐exo‐morpholinoisobornane‐10‐thiol (MITH) ( 1 ) at room temperature or at 0 °C.     

Development of Highly Active Chiral Titanium Catalysts for the Enantioselective Addition of Various Organometallic Reagents to Aldehydes

The catalytic enantioselective carbonyl addition reaction has long attracted the interest of chemists because of its synthetic importance. Although many highly enantioselective reactions have been developed, with few exceptions the reactions are carried out at relatively high catalyst loadings, making them less practical for scale‐up applications. In addition, organometallic reagents employed as carbon nucleophiles have been limited to those with relatively low reactivity, such as diorganozincs and arylboronic acids. In an effort to enhance the practicality, a highly active and enantioselective chiral titanium catalyst system was recently developed in our laboratory, enabling the enantioselective carbonyl addition reaction to aldehydes using various organometallic reagents (RM; M = MgX, Li, BY₂, ZnX, AlMe₂) at lower catalyst loadings (≤5 mol %).

     

Highly Enantioselective Zinc/Amino Alcohol‐Catalyzed Alkynylation of Aldehydes

Meeting the challenge : The zinc/amino alcohol catalyzed enantioselective addition of terminal alkynes to aldehydes is effective with both phenylacetylene and methyl propiolate, leading to chiral secondary propargyl alcohols with very high enantioselectivity (see scheme).

     

Enhancement of the Catalytic Activity of Chiral H8‐BINOL Titanium Complexes by Introduction of Sterically Demanding Groups at the 3‐Position

The activity of chiral titanium catalysts derived from H₈‐BINOL ligands in the enantioselective arylation of an aldehyde with PhTi(OiPr)₃ is significantly enhanced by an increase of the size of the substituent at the 3‐position. High enantioselectivity (> 90 % ee) can be obtained even at a substrate/catalyst ratio (S/C) of 800 for DTBP‐H₈‐BINOL (DTBP=3,5‐di‐tert‐butylphenyl) and DAP‐H₈‐BINOL (DAP=3,5‐di(9‐anthraceny)phenyl). These titanium catalysts are successfully applied to the enantioselective arylation and heteroarylation of aldehydes at a S/C ratio of 400 by using organotitanium reagents generated in situ from bromide precursors. The remarkable weakening of the intramolecular aggregation of the two ?Ti(OiPr)₃ units in a DPP‐H₈‐BINOL (DPP=3,5‐diphenylpheny)‐derived bis‐titanium complex is revealed by X‐ray and variable‐temperature (VT)‐NMR studies. Based on these observations, a catalytic cycle, involving the rate‐limiting aryl group transfer followed by aldehyde complexation and enantioselective arylation, is proposed to account for the high activity of the 3‐substituted H₈‐BINOL catalyst system.     

Brønsted Acid Catalyzed,Conjugate Addition of β‐Dicarbonyls to In Situ Generated ortho‐Quinone Methides—Enantioselective Synthesis of 4‐Aryl‐4H‐Chromenes

We describe herein a catalytic, enantioselective process for the synthesis of 4H‐chromenes which are important structural elements of many natural products and biologically active compounds. A sequence comprising a conjugate addition of β‐diketones to in situ generated ortho‐quinone methides followed by a cyclodehydration reaction furnished 4‐aryl‐4H‐chromenes in generally excellent yields and high optical purity. A BINOL‐based chiral phosphoric acid was employed as a Brønsted acid catalyst which converted ortho‐hydroxy benzhydryl alcohols into hydrogen‐bonded ortho‐quinone methides and effected the carbon–carbon bond‐forming event with high enantioselectivity.     

Direct Regiospecific and Highly Enantioselective Intermolecular α‐Allylic Alkylation of Aldehydes by a Combination of Transition‐Metal and Chiral Amine Catalysts

The first direct intermolecular regiospecific and highly enantioselective α‐allylic alkylation of linear aldehydes by a combination of achiral bench‐stable Pd⁰ complexes and simple chiral amines as co‐catalysts is disclosed. The co‐catalytic asymmetric chemoselective and regiospecific α‐allylic alkylation reaction is linked in tandem with in situ reduction to give the corresponding 2‐alkyl alcohols with high enantiomeric ratios (up to 98:2 e.r.; e.r.=enantiomeric ratio). It is also an expeditious entry to valuable 2‐alkyl substituted hemiacetals, 2‐alkyl‐butane‐1,4‐diols, and amines. The concise co‐catalytic asymmetric total syntheses of biologically active natural products (e.g., Arundic acid) are disclosed.     

Enzyme‐ and Ruthenium‐Catalyzed Enantioselective Transformation of α‐Allenic Alcohols into 2,3‐Dihydrofurans

An efficient one‐pot method for the enzyme‐ and ruthenium‐catalyzed enantioselective transformation of α‐allenic alcohols into 2,3‐dihydrofurans has been developed. The method involves an enzymatic kinetic resolution and a subsequent ruthenium‐catalyzed cycloisomerization, which provides 2,3‐dihydrofurans with excellent enantioselectivity (up to >99 % ee). A ruthenium carbene species was proposed as a key intermediate in the cycloisomerization.     

2,10－莰烷二醇衍生的钛络合物催化的不对称硫醚氧化及其机理

在2,10－莰烷二醇/钛催化的亚砜化反应中,枯烯过氧化氢(CHP)和叔丁基过氧化氢(TBHP)分别给出R构型和S构型亚砜。在动力学拆分过程中,用CHP作氧化剂导致亚砜的构型发生逆转,但是用TBHP则保留不变。基于这些结果和电喷雾质谱(ESI－MS)数据,亚砜化反应的机理推测为分子内亲核氧转移到络合的硫醚底物上。     

On the Scope of Trimethylaluminium‐Promoted 1,2‐Additions of ArZnX Reagents to Aldehydes

A practical asymmetric 1,2‐addition of functionalised arylzinc halides to aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes is described by the use of aminoalcohol catalysis in the presence of AlMe₃. The process is simple to carry out, uses only commercially available reagents/ligands and provides moderate to good (80–96 % ee) enantioselectivities for a wide range of substrates. Either commercial ArZnX reagents or those prepared in situ from low cost aryl bromides can be used. In the latter case electrophilic functional groups are tolerated (CO₂Et, CN). The reaction relies on rapid exchange between ArZnX and AlMe₃ to generate mixed organometallic species that lead to the formation of a key intermediate that is distinctly different from the classic “anti” transition states of Noyori. NMR monitoring and related experiments have been used to probe the validity of the proposed selective transition state.     

Enantioselective Zinc/BINOL‐Catalysed Alkynylation of Aldimines Generated in Situ from α‐Amido Sulfones

Chiral nonracemic N‐Cbz‐protected propargylic amines have been prepared by the addition of terminal alkynes to imines generated in situ from α‐amido sulfones in the presence of diethylzinc and BINOL‐type ligands as catalysts. The reactions give good yields and high enantioselectivities (ee values up to 95 %) for a good number of aromatic and heteroaromatic α‐amido sulfones and alkynes.