Enantioselective synthesis of binaphthyl polymers using chiral asymmetric phenolic coupling catalysts: oxidative coupling and tandem glaser/oxidative coupling

A series of functionalized and optically active polybinaphthyls have been synthesized from achiral substrates by asymmetric oxidative phenolic coupling using a chiral 1,5-diaza-cis-decalin copper catalyst. In most cases, a copper tetrafluoroborate catalyst was found to be superior to the copper iodide catalyst, as ortho-iodination of the substrates could be prevented. Three methods for the formation of chiral polymers are described. In the first method, two 2-naphthols linked together at C-6 are subjected to the optimized asymmetric oxidative phenolic coupling conditions to form chiral polynaphthyls. A combination of NMR and HPLC measurements secured the selectivity of the asymmetric coupling. In the second method, substrates containing only one naphthalene were utilized. By incorporating a 2-naphthol and a terminal alkyne, the chiral copper catalysts effect both Glaser-Hay coupling of the alkyne and oxidative asymmetric coupling of the 2-naphthol with remarkable chemoselectivity. The relative reaction rates of various moieties with the chiral catalysts follows the order: benzyl cyanides > aryl alkynes > electron-rich 2-naphthols > electron-deficient 2-naphthols > alkyl alkynes. Because of high chemoselectivity, this approach is useful for the organized assembly of multifunctional substrates in a single operation. In all cases, no cross-coupling is observed between the alkyne and the 2-naphthol. This approach was thus applied to a set of highly functionalized precursors. In this third case, the biaryl coupling was performed first and a Glaser-Hay coupling was performed in a separate step to generate a highly functionalized polymer. In some cases, the resultant chiral polymers exhibit very large optical rotations.