Asymmetric Synthesis of Octahedral Coordination Complexes

Bis(acetylacetonato)bis(pyrazolato)ruthenate(iii) as a redox-active scorpionate ligand

The potential of a new anionic octahedral metal complex [Ru(III)(acac)2(pz)2](-) ((-)) (pzH = pyrazole) as a ligand with a scorpionate coordination behaviour like tris(pyrazolyl)borate (tp) and reversible redox activity is presented. Trinuclear metal complexes, [Ru(III)2Zn(II)(acac)4(pz)4] () and [Ru(II)Ru(III)2(acac)4(pz)4] (), were each synthesized by the reaction of ZnCl2 or Ru3(CO)12 with [Ru(III)(acac)2(pz)(pzH)] (H) that is in situ deprotonated and acts as a precursor of (-). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies clarified that (-) acts as a scorpionate ligand; two (-) units in and one unit in function as bidentate ligands with two pyrazolates as pincers, while another (-) unit in functions as a tridentate ligand with one oxygen atom as a tail in addition to the two pyrazolate pincers. Moreover, and showed reversible multi-stage redox behaviours based on the Ru(II)/Ru(III) and Ru(III)/Ru(IV) couples of the (-) units in the cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements. Based on the X-ray, IR, and CV measurements and the comparison with other Ru(ii) complexes with tp derivatives, the (-) unit was found to act as a redox-active scorpionate with electron withdrawing properties compared to the tp.

Octahedral Chiral-at-Metal Iridium Catalysts: Versatile Chiral Lewis Acids for Asymmetric Conjugate Additions

Octahedral iridium(III) complexes containing two bidentate cyclometalating 5-tert-butyl-2-phenylbenzoxazole (IrO) or 5-tert-butyl-2-phenylbenzothiazole (IrS) ligands in addition to two labile acetonitrile ligands are demonstrated to constitute a highly versatile class of asymmetric Lewis acid catalysts. These complexes feature the metal center as the exclusive source of chirality and serve as effective asymmetric catalysts (0.5-5.0 mol % catalyst loading) for a variety of reactions with α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, namely Friedel-Crafts alkylations (94-99% ee), Michael additions with CH-acidic compounds (81-97% ee), and a variety of cycloadditions (92-99% ee with high d.r.). Mechanistic investigations and crystal structures of an iridium-coordinated substrates and iridium-coordinated products are consistent with a mechanistic picture in which the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds are activated by two-point binding (bidentate coordination) to the chiral Lewis acid.

Asymmetric aza-Henry reaction to provide oxindoles with quaternary carbon stereocenter catalyzed by a metal-templated chiral Brønsted base

An inert octahedral chiral-at-metal iridium(iii) complex serves as a highly effective chiral Brønsted base catalyst for implementing a quaternary carbon stereocenter.

Asymmetric catalysis mediated by the ligand sphere of octahedral chiral-at-metal complexes

Due to the relationship between structure and function in chemistry, access to novel chemical structures ultimately drives the discovery of novel chemical function. In this light, the formidable utility of the octahedral geometry of six-coordinate metal complexes is founded in its stereochemical complexity combined with the ability to access chemical space that might be unavailable for purely organic compounds. In this Minireview we wish to draw attention to inert octahedral chiral-at-metal complexes as an emerging class of metal-templated asymmetric "organocatalysts" which exploit the globular, rigid nature and stereochemical options of octahedral compounds and promise to provide new opportunities in the field of catalysis.

Chiral-auxiliary-mediated asymmetric synthesis of ruthenium polypyridyl complexes

An octahedral metal complex with 6 different monodentate ligands can form 15 diastereomers as pairs of enantiomers. As a result, the elaborate stereochemistry of octahedral coordination geometries provides tremendous opportunities in the fields of catalysis, the materials sciences, and the life sciences. The demand for enantiomerically pure coordination complexes for tasks related to the selective molecular recognition of biomacromolecules led us to develop synthetic methods to control the absolute stereochemistry at octahedral metal centers. A few years ago our laboratory therefore embarked on a project exploring new and general synthetic strategies for the asymmetric synthesis of inert octahedral transition metal complexes. We initially used the example of thermally inert ruthenium polypyridyl complexes and developed a family of chiral bidentate ligands, including salicyloxazolines, (mercaptophenyl)oxazolines, sulfinylphenols, N-acetylsulfinamides, a phosphinohydroxybinaphthyl, and even the amino acid proline to serve as chiral auxiliaries for asymmetric coordination chemistry. All these chiral auxiliaries strongly coordinate to ruthenium(II) in a bidentate, deprotonated fashion, allowing them to control the absolute metal-centered configuration in the course of subsequent ligand exchange reactions. Finally, we can remove them from the metal without any loss of chiral information and without leaving a chemical trace. A key feature of these chiral auxiliary ligands is their switchable binding strength. A chelate effect ensures that the chiral ligands coordinate very tightly to the metal center, placing their carbon-based, sulfur-based, or axial chirality in a well-defined position close to the metal center to efficiently establish the absolute metal-centered configuration. At the same time a coordinating phenolate, carboximidate, carboxylate, or thiophenolate moiety makes the coordination reversible by weakening the binding strength through protonation or methylation. Following this strategy, we synthesized a large number of homoleptic, bis-heteroleptic, and tris-heteroleptic ruthenium polypyridyl complexes in an asymmetric fashion with enantiomeric ratios that routinely reached or exceeded 96:4. Our approach should serve as a blueprint for the asymmetric synthesis of different classes of ruthenium complexes and chiral coordination complexes of other metals.

Asymmetric catalysis with an inert chiral-at-metal iridium complex

The development of a chiral-at-metal iridium(III) complex for the highly efficient catalytic asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of β,β'-disubstituted nitroalkenes is reported. Catalysis by this inert, rigid metal complex does not involve any direct metal coordination but operates exclusively through weak interactions with functional groups properly arranged in the ligand sphere of the iridium complex. Although the iridium complex relies only on the formation of three hydrogen bonds, it exceeds the performance of most organocatalysts with respect to enantiomeric excess (up to 99% ee) and catalyst loading (down to 0.1 mol %). This work hints at an advantage of structurally complicated rigid scaffolds for non-covalent catalysis, which especially relies on conformationally constrained cooperative interactions between the catalyst and substrates.

Proline as chiral auxiliary for the economical asymmetric synthesis of ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes

A straightforward method for the synthesis of virtually enantiomerically pure ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes [Ru(pp)(pp')(pp")](PF(6))(2), pp = bidentate polypyridyl has been developed. The synthesis draws from the readily available racemic starting material cis-[Ru(pp)(pp')Cl(2)] and the natural amino acids l- or d-proline and relies on a dynamic asymmetric transformation under thermodynamic control.

Active versus passive substituent participation in the auxiliary-mediated asymmetric synthesis of an octahedral metal complex

Ambiguous chirality transfer: A surprising reversal of chirality transfer from carbon to metal is reported in the asymmetric synthesis of a chiral ruthenium complex, affording the metal-centered configuration Λ or Δ depending only on the chemical composition of the side chain of a chiral salicyloxazoline auxiliary.

Easy separation of Δ and Λ isomers of highly luminescent [Ir(III)]-cyclometalated complexes based on chiral phenol-oxazoline ancillary ligands

A new class of neutral cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes with enantiomerically pure C(1)-symmetric phenol-oxazolines (3a,b) have been synthetized in high yields and fully characterized. Resolution of the corresponding Δ(R) and Λ(R) or Δ(S) and Λ(S) isomers was easily achieved by conventional flash chromatography. The corresponding Δ and Λ helicities have been confirmed by CD spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Regarding the absorption and luminescence properties with unpolarized light, no significant difference between Δ and Λ isomers has been observed. A strong blue luminescence is observed for deaerated solutions of complexes 5a and 5b in CH(3)CN.

Chiral-at-metal complexes and their catalytic applications in organic synthesis

This tutorial review provides an introduction to the synthesis and characterization of chiral-at-metal complexes and their catalytic application in organic transformations. The synthetic access to these architectures either via chiral resolution or by employment of chiral ligands is described, characterization techniques for the complexes are referenced and the application of the R/S nomenclature is explained. Racemization and epimerization processes are often observed for the title compounds; the article gives mechanistic insights to these processes and describes how to recognize and document them. Finally, key catalytic applications in organic synthesis are presented and how the molecular architectures of the chiral-at-metal complexes lead to stereodifferentiation and, thus to enantiomeric excesses in the products.