Chiral nonracemic late-transition-metal organometallics with a metal-bonded stereogenic carbon atom: development of new tools for asymmetric organic synthesis

Transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions and the Heck reaction have evolved into powerful tools for the construction of carbon-carbon bonds. In most cases, the reactive organometallic intermediates feature a carbon-transition-metal sigma bond between a sp(2)-hybridized carbon atom and the transition metal (Csp(2)--TM). New, and potentially more powerful approach to transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric organic synthesis would arise if catalytic chiral nonracemic organometallic intermediates with a stereogenic sp(3)-hybridized carbon atoms directly bonded to the transition metal (C*sp(3)--TM bond) could be formed from racemic or achiral organic substrates, and subsequently participate in the formation of a new carbon-carbon bond (C*sp(3)-C) with retention of the stereochemical information. To date, only a few catalytic processes that are based on this concept, have been developed. In this account, both "classical" and recent studies on preparation and reactivity of stable chiral nonracemic organometallics with a metal-bonded stereogenic carbon, which provide the foundation for the future design of new synthetic transformations exploiting the outlined concept, are discussed, along with examples of relevant catalytic processes.