Rhodium catalyzed 1,4-conjugate addition of 1,5-azastibocines with electron deficient olefins

The rhodium-catalyzed reaction of Sb-aryl-1,5-azastibocines with alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones and esters is described. Exclusive formation of 1,4-conjugate adduct was achieved in aqueous NMP (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone) in the presence of 5 mol% of RhCl(cod)](2), and no formation of Heck adduct was observed in this condition. Reactions with various enones and enoates were also demonstrated to prove generality of the 1,4-conjugate addition.