Quantum chemical study on the mechanism of enantioselective reduction of prochiral ketones catalyzed by oxazaborolidines

The ab initio molecular orbital study on the mechanism of enantioselective reduction of 3,3-dimethyl butanone-2 with borane catalyzed by chiral oxazaborolidine is performed. As illustrated, this enantioselective reduction is exothermic and goes mainly through the formations of the catalyst-borane adduct, the catalyst-borane-3,3-dimethyl butanone-2 adduct, and the cata-lyst-alkoxyborane adduct with a B-O-B-N 4-member ring and through the decomposition of the catalyst-alkoxyborane adduct with the regeneration of the catalyst. During the hydride transfer in the catalyst-borane-3,3-dimethyl butanone-2 adduct to form the catalyst-alkoxyborane adduct, the hydride transfer and the formation of the B-O-B-N 4-member ring in the catalyst-alkoxyborane adduct happen simultaneously. The controlling step for the reduction is the transfer of hydride from the borane moiety to the carbonyl carbon of 3,3-dimethyl butanone-2. The transition state for the hydride transfer is a twisted chair structure and the reduction leads to R-chiral alcohols.