Alpha,alpha-diarylprolinol ethers: new tools for functionalization of carbonyl compounds

Highly enantioselective cascade transformations by merging heterogeneous transition metal catalysis with asymmetric aminocatalysis

The concept of combining heterogeneous transition metal and amine catalysis for enantioselective cascade reactions has not yet been realized. This is of great advantage since it would allow for the recycling of expensive and non-environmentally friendly transition metals. We disclose that the use of a heterogeneous Pd-catalyst in combination with a simple chiral amine co-catalyst allows for highly enantioselective cascade transformations. The preparative power of this process has been demonstrated in the context of asymmetric cascade Michael/carbocyclization transformations that delivers cyclopentenes bearing an all carbon quaternary stereocenters in high yields with up to 30:1 dr and 99% ee. Moreover, a variety of highly enantioselective cascade hetero-Michael/carbocyclizations were developed for the one-pot synthesis of valuable dihydrofurans and pyrrolidines (up to 98% ee) by using bench-stable heterogeneous Pd and chiral amines as co-catalysts.

Organocatalytic cascade aza-Michael/hemiacetal reaction between disubstituted hydrazines and α,β-unsaturated aldehydes: Highly diastereo- and enantioselective synthesis of pyrazolidine derivatives

The catalytic synthesis of nitrogen-containing heterocycles is of great importance to medicinal and synthetic chemists, and also a challenge for modern chemical methodology. In this paper, we report the synthesis of pyrazolidine derivatives through a domino aza-Michael/hemiacetal sequence with chiral or achiral secondary amines as organocatalysts. Thus, a series of achiral pyrazolidine derivatives were obtained with good yields (up to 90%) and high diastereoselectivities (>20:1) with pyrrolidine as an organocatalyst, and enantioenriched pyrazolidines are also achieved with good results (up to 86% yield, >10/1 regioselectivity, >20:1 dr, 99% ee) in the presence of (S)-diphenylprolinol trimethylsilyl ether catalyst.

(2R,3S,4R)-3,4-Isopropylidenedioxy-2-(phenylsulfonylmethyl)pyrrolidin-1-ol

The title compound, C₁₄H₁₉NO₅S, was prepared by nucleophilic addition of the lithium derivative of methyl­phenyl­sulfone to (3S,4R)-3,4-isopropyl­idene­dioxy­pyrroline 1-oxide. There are four mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit. The crystal structure determination confirms the configuration of the chiral centres as 2R,3S,4R. In the crystal, pairs of O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into dimers.

NHC-catalysed diastereoselective synthesis of multifunctionalised piperidines via cascade reaction of enals with azalactones

NHC-catalysed azalactone ring-opening and piperidine ring-closing cascade with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes (enals) in a one-pot operation is reported. The present reaction cascade offers a convenient method for a highly diastereoselective synthesis of multifunctionalised piperidines in excellent yields under mild conditions.

The diarylprolinol silyl ether system: a general organocatalyst

The past few decades have witnessed some of the most important and revolutionizing advances in the field of asymmetric catalysis. Chemists no longer rely solely on natural sources as the starting point of their synthetic strategy, as in chiral pool or auxiliary-based synthesis. Instead, naturally occurring chiral motifs are selected and, either unchanged or after modification, used in substoichiometric amounts as chiral catalysts or ligands. In this way, they effectively transfer their chirality to prochiral substrates, thereby rapidly amplifying and diversifying the arsenal of useful chiral building blocks available to the synthetic community. A long-standing goal in the pursuit of new catalytic systems is the discovery of general catalysts. Ideally, such catalytic systems should be capable of promoting a large number of enantioselective reactions, via multiple modes of activation, with good substrate tolerance and high stereoselectivity. In this Account, we describe the synthetic usefulness, efficiency, selectivity, and robustness of the diarylprolinol silyl ether system as the catalyst in various reactions of aldehydes. Based on the diarylprolinol silyl ether system, several studies on enamine-mediated transformations of saturated aldehydes have resulted in the introduction of different functionalities into the α-position of aldehydes in a highly stereoselective manner. This HOMO-activation concept was later extended to include α,β-unsaturated aldehydes, which after condensation with the aminocatalyst generate a dienamine species capable of undergoing stereoselective Diels-Alder-type reactions. As a result, the effective functionalization of the γ-position of the aldehyde is achieved. Recently, the activation principle was further developed to include 2,4-dienals, which form trienamine intermediates upon condensation with the aminocatalyst. The trienamines effectively react with carbon-centered dienophiles, forming aldehyde products having up to four contiguous stereocenters. Because of the concerted nature of the reaction and the efficient catalyst shielding of the β-position, the stereoinduction is achieved at the remote ε-position of the original aldehyde. Complementary to the enamine-mediated activations, α,β-unsaturated aldehydes can also be efficiently functionalized by applying the diarylprolinol silyl ether system via conjugate addition through iminium-ion-mediated processes, that is, LUMO-activation. In such reactions, the aminocatalyst not only effectively shields one of the enantiotopic faces of the enal, it also ensures excellent chemoselectivity, affording 1,4-adducts as the only products. Several different carbon and heteroatom nucleophiles can be added in a highly stereoselective fashion. The ability of the catalysts to participate in various enamine- and iminium-ion-mediated processes also makes them ideal for the sequential addition of nucleophiles and electrophiles in a cascade manner. These cascade reactions thereby afford access to products having at least two stereocenters. In the years to come, the diarylprolinol silyl ether catalysts will probably maintain their prominent position as general catalysts in the field of aminocatalysis. Moreover, recent efforts devoted to mechanistic studies might soon engender further advances with this versatile catalytic system, particularly in the areas of activation modes, catalyst loadings, and industrial applications.

Transfer hydrogenation with Hantzsch esters and related organic hydride donors

In recent years, Hantzsch esters and their related organic hydride donors have been widely utilized in biomimetic approaches of asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) reactions. Various compounds containing C=C, C=N and C=O unsaturated functionalities could be reduced in the presence of organocatalysts or transition metal complexes, affording versatile chiral building blocks in high yields and excellent enantioselectivities under mild conditions. In this critical review, recent advances in this area are summarized and classified according to unsaturated functional groups being reduced and catalytic systems employed (91 references).