Lewis acid-catalyzed asymmetric radical additions of trialkylboranes to (1R,2S,5R)-2-(1-methyl-1-phenylethyl)-5-methylcyclohexyl-2H-azirine-3-carboxylate

The asymmetric addition of alkyl radicals to (1R,2S,5R)-2-(1-methyl-1-phenylethyl)-5-methylcyclohexyl-2H-azirine-3-carboxylate (1) yielding the corresponding 2-alkylaziridine-2-carboxylates has been investigated. High diastereoselectivities and good yields were obtained in the addition of primary alkyl radicals to azirine 1, while secondary radicals gave a lower dr. The influence of Lewis acids was also investigated; 10 mol% of CuCl were found to increase the dr.