Mechanism and scope of salen bifunctional catalysts in asymmetric aldehyde and α-ketoester alkylation

Metal complexes of C₂-symmetric Lewis acid/Lewis base salen ligands provide bifunctional activation resulting in rapid rates in the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes (up to 92% ee). Further experiments probed the reactivity of the individual Lewis acid and Lewis base components of the catalyst and established that both moieties are essential for asymmetric catalysis. These catalysts are also effective in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to α-ketoesters. This finding is significant because α-ketoesters alone serve as their own ligands to accelerate racemic 1,2-carbonyl addition of Et₂Zn and racemic carbonyl reduction. The latter proceeds via a metalloene pathway, and often accounts for the predominant product. Singular Lewis acid catalysts do not accelerate enantioselective 1,2-addition over these two competing paths. The bifunctional amino salen catalysts, however, rapidly provide enantioenriched 1,2-addition products in excellent yield, complete chemoselectivity, and good enantioselectivity (up to 88% ee). A library of the bifunctional amino salens was synthesized and evaluated in this reaction. The utility of the α-ketoester method has been demonstrated in the synthesis of an opiate antagonist.     

Catalyst-substrate helical character matching determines enantiomeric excess

In the framework of a helix theory recently developed for molecular chiralities and chiral interactions, it is further proposed that for an asymmetric reaction to be highly enantioselective, the helical characters, that is, the local energies of electrons on the helices, of the catalyst and the substrate complexed with it in the corresponding enantioselection-determining step must be matched. These helical characters can be analyzed on the basis of molecular polarizability and structure properties under a given reaction mechanism. This proposal highlights the importance of polarizability matching in three-dimension chiral space and in essence is a chiral version of the classical hard and soft acid-base theory. It also from an electronic effect angle sheds light on the nature of the conventional lock-and-key origin of high enantioselection and carries the message that, to design a good catalyst (the key), rather than focusing on the rigidity, bulkiness or C₂-symmetry of the catalyst, one should focus more on the helical character of the substrate (the lock) with which the catalyst will interact. It is generally easier to discover a highly enantioselective catalyst for a substrate of a large helical character than for a substrate of a small helical character. The proposal is supported by theoretical modeling as well as numerous experiments and is used to understanding various aspects of current asymmetric catalysis.     

New developments in zinc-catalyzed asymmetric hydrosilylation of ketones with PMHS

The influence of structural modifications of the diamine ligand and the ZnR₂ precursor in the [ZnR₂-diamine]-catalyzed asymmetric hydrosilylation of prochiral ketones with PMHS in aprotic medium is reported. A new diamine ligand giving up to 91% ee in the reduction of acetophenone is described. The scope of this reduction system has been investigated using variously functionalized ketones and some deactivation pathways have been identified.     

Synthesis of New Ligand 1,2-Bis{di[（R,R）-1,3,2-oxzaphosphlidine]phosphino}ethane with C_2-symmetric Axis and Application in Rh-catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation

New ligand 1,2-bis{di[（R,R）-1,3,2-oxzaphosphlidine]phosphino}ethane [（R,R）-BDOPPEs 1,2,3 and 4] with C2-symmetric axis and bearing nitrogen and oxygen were synthesized from readily available optically active amino alcohols.Rh complexes with these ligands were highly enantioselective catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation of N-benzoyldehydroamino acid derivatives and α-functionalized ketones in 99%e.e.and 98%e.e.,respectively.This new class of（R,R）-BDOPPEs 1,2,3 and 4 gave much more effectivity and enantionselectivity than their corresponding non-C2-asymmetric aminophosphine phosphinite.     

Exact results for the asymmetric simple exclusion process with a blockage

We present new results for the current as a function of transmission rate in the one-dimensional totally asymmetric simple exclusion process (TASEP) with a blockage that lowers the jump rate at one site from one tor<1. Exact finitevolume results serve to bound the allowed values for the current in the infinite system. This proves the existence of a nonequilibrium phase transition, corresponding to an immiscibility gap in the allowed values of the asymptotic densities which the infinite system can have in a stationary state. A series expansion inr, derived from the finite systems, is proven to be asymptotic for all sufficiently large systems. Padé approximants based on this series, which make specific assumptions about the nature of the singularity atr=1, match numerical data for the infinite system to 1 part in 10⁴.     

Generalized Bethe ansatz solution of a one-dimensional asymmetric exclusion process on a ring with blockage

We present a model for a one-dimensional anisotropic exclusion process describing particles moving deterministically on a ring of lengthL with a single defect, across which they move with probability 0 p 1. This model is equivalent to a two-dimensional, six-vertex model in an extreme anisotropic limit with a defect line interpolating between open and periodic boundary conditions. We solve this model with a Bethe ansatz generalized to this kind of boundary condition. We discuss in detail the steady state and derive exact expressions for the currentj, the density profilen(x), and the two-point density correlation function. In the thermodynamic limitL the phase diagram shows three phases, a low-density phase, a coexistence phase, and a high-density phase related to the low-density phase by a particle-hole symmetry. In the low-density phase the density profile decays exponentially with the distance from the boundary to its bulk value on a length scale . On the phase transition line diverges and the currentj approaches its critical valuej _c = p as a power law,j _c – j ^–1/2. In the coexistence phase the width of the interface between the high-density region and the low-density region is proportional toL ^1/2 if the density f 1/2 and=0 independent ofL if = 1/2. The (connected) two-point correlation function turns out to be of a scaling form with a space-dependent amplitude n(x₁, x₂) =A(x₂)A ^Ke^–r/ withr = x ₂ –x ₁ and a critical exponent = 0.     

Methods of Asymmetric Synthesis—Enantioselective Catalytic Hydrogenation

It is proposed that asymmetric syntheses be divided into enantioselective and diastereoselective syntheses. The enantioselective hydrogenations discussed in the present progress report were catalyzed by Raney nickel that had previously been treated with solutions of optically active compounds. Relationships exist between the enantioselectivity of the catalyst and the structure of the chiral compound used to modify it.     

Tunable phosphinite, phosphite and phosphoramidite ligands for the asymmetric hydrovinylation reactions

Only a limited number of ligands have been successfully employed for the Ni-catalyzed asymmetric hydrovinylation reaction. Diarylphosphinites, carrying β-acylamino groups prepared from readily available carbohydrates, in conjunction with highly dissociated counteranions {[(3,5-(CF₃)₂C₆H₃]₄B⁻ or SbF₆⁻}, effect the hydrovinylation of vinylarenes under ambient pressure of ethylene with high enantioselectivity. Nitrogen substituents such as -COCF₃ and COPh groups lead to isomerization of the primary products (3-arylbutenes) to Z- and E-2-aryl-2-butenes. In a prototypical synthesis of a 2-arylproionic acid, (S)-3-(4-bromophenyl)-1-butene (89% ee) has be transformed into (R)-ibuprofen by Ni-catalyzed cross-coupling with i-BuMgBr, followed by oxidation of the double bond with NaIO₄ and KMnO₄. Asymmetric codimerization of norbonene and ethylene using binaphthol-derived phosphoramidites as ligands gives 1:1, 2:1 or polymeric adducts depending on the relative configurations and nature of the BINAP and amine moieties. With one of the phosphoramidite-Ni complexes, counteranions BAr₄⁻ [Ar=3,5-(CF₃)₂C₆H₃] and SbF₆⁻, which had been used interchangeably in other reactions, give either a 1:1 adduct or a 2:1 adduct, respectively.     

Catalytic enantioselective allylation of aldehydes via a moisture-tolerant chiral BINOL-In(III) complex

A moisture-tolerant chiral indium complex has been developed to effect good enantioselectivities in the addition of allyltributylstannanes to aldehydes. The allylation of a variety of aromatic, α,β-unsaturated and aliphatic aldehydes resulted in both moderate to good yields and high enantioselectivities (up to 86% ee).     

Stereoselective syntheses of (−)-chloramphenicol and (+)-thiamphenicol

Chloramphenicol and thiamphenicol have been enantioselectively synthesized using an asymmetric halohydrin reaction as a key step. In particular, halomethoxylation reaction was used, where O-methyl functions as a hydroxyl protecting group and eliminates an additional protection step.