Catalytic asymmetric organozinc additions to carbonyl compounds

Reactivity-based dynamic covalent chemistry: reversible binding and chirality discrimination of monoalcohols

In an effort to develop reactivity-based dynamic covalent bonding and to expand the scope and application of the dynamic covalent chemistry, in situ-generated simple generic iminium ions were utilized for the dynamic covalent binding of monoalcohols with high affinity. Hammett analysis was conducted to manipulate the equilibrium and correlate with the reactivity of reactants. The structural features of aldehydes and secondary amines were identified, and both polar and steric effects have significant impact on the binding. In particular, the substrates which can participate in π-π and polar-π interactions are able to afford apparent equilibrium constants in the magnitude of 10(4) M(-2), demonstrating the power of weak supramolecular forces to stabilize the dynamic covalent assembly. The generality of the assembly was validated with a series of mono secondary alcohols. To showcase the practicality of our system, chirality discrimination and ee measurement of chiral secondary alcohols were achieved.

Dual stereocontrolled alkylation of aldehydes with polystyrene-supported nickel complexes derived from α-amino amides

Nickel(ii) complexes derived from α-amino amide ligands anchored to gel-type and monolithic polymers act as efficient catalysts for the enantioselective addition of dialkylzinc reagents to aldehydes.

Dinuclear versus mononuclear pathways in zinc mediated nucleophilic addition: a combined experimental and DFT study

A combined experimental and DFT study was conducted to reveal the difference between dinuclear and mononuclear zinc mediated nucleophilic addition.

Enantioselective addition of ArTi(OiPr)3 to aldehydes catalyzed by a titanium complex of an N-sulfonylated amino alcohol

Asymmetric additions of ArTi(OⁱPr)₃ to aldehydes catalyzed by a titanium catalyst of N-sulfonylated amino alcohols to afford desired secondary alcohols in good yields with good to excellent enantioselectivities of up to 95% ee.

MgBr2-promoted enantioselective aryl addition of ArTi(OiPr)3 to ketones catalyzed by a titanium(iv) catalyst of N,N′-sulfonylated (1R,2R)-cyclohexane-1,2-diamine

MgBr₂-promoted asymmetric addition of ArTi(OⁱPr)₃ to ketones catalyzed by a titanium catalyst of N,N′-sulfonylated (1R,2R)-cyclohexane-1,2-diamines to afford desired tertiary alcohols in good to excellent enantioselectivities of up to 95% ee.

Crystal structures of (RS)-N-[(1R,2S)-2-benzyloxy-1-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)propyl]-2-methylpropane-2-sulfinamide and (RS)-N-[(1S,2R)-2-benzyloxy-1-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)propyl]-2-methylpropane-2-sulfinamide: two related protected 1,2-amino alcohols

The title compounds, C22H31NO2S, (1), and C23H33NO2S, (2), are related protected 1,2-amino alcohols. They differ in the substituents on the benzene ring,viz.2,6-dimethylphenyl in (1) and 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl in (2). The plane of the phenyl ring is inclined to that of the benzene ring by 28.52 (7)° in (1) and by 44.65 (19)° in (2). In the crystal of (1), N—H...O=S and C—H...O=S hydrogen bonds link molecules, forming chains along [100], while in (2), similar hydrogen bonds link molecules into chains along [010]. The absolute structures of both compounds were determined by resonance scattering.

Chiral ligands derived from monoterpenes: application in the synthesis of optically pure secondary alcohols via asymmetric catalysis

The preparation of optically pure secondary alcohols in the presence of catalysts based on chiral ligands derived from monoterpenes, such as pinenes, limonenes and carenes, is reviewed. A wide variety of these ligands has been synthesized and used in several catalytic reactions, including hydrogen transfer, C-C bond formation via addition of organozinc compounds to aldehydes, hydrosilylation, and oxazaborolidine reduction, leading to high activities and enantioselectivities.

Alkenes as Chelating Groups in Diastereoselective Additions of Organometallics to Ketones

Alkenes have been discovered to be chelating groups to Zn(II), enforcing highly stereoselective additions of organozincs to β,γ-unsaturated ketones. ¹H NMR studies and DFT calculations provide support for this surprising chelation mode. The results expand the range of coordinating groups for chelation-controlled carbonyl additions from heteroatom Lewis bases to simple C–C double bonds, broadening the 60 year old paradigm.

Catalytic asymmetric α-Iminol rearrangement: new chiral platforms

A series of 19 different asymmetric catalysts were screened in an effort to identify the first chiral catalyst for the rearrangement of α-hydroxy imines to α-amino ketones involving a 1,2-carbon shift. Although aluminate complexes of VAPOL, VANOL, and 7,7'-(t)Bu2VANOL were quite effective catalysts giving up to 88% ee, the ne plus ultra catalyst for this reaction was found to be a zirconium complex of VANOL which gives 97 to >99% ee for the majority of the substrates examined. An X-ray diffraction study of the catalyst reveals that the zirconium exists as a homoleptic complex with three VANOL ligands and two protonated N-methyl imidazoles.

Optically active helical poly(α,β-unsaturated ketone) from anionic polymerization of (S)-3-acrylyl-2,2′- bis(methoxymethoxy)-1,1′-binaphthyl

(S)-3-acrylyl-2,2′-bis(methoxymethoxy)-1,1′-binaphthyl (3a) was synthesized and anionically polymerized using n-BuLi as an initiator. The polymer derived from 3a had a tremendous specific optical rotation [Formula: see text] = −304.2, while that of the monomer 3a is −68.7. Poly-3a was confirmed to exist in the form of a one-handed helical structure in solution by means of comparing the specific optical rotation, the circular dichroism, and UV-vis spectra with that of 3a and the model compounds such as (S)-3-propionyl-2,2′-bis(methoxymethoxy)-1,1′-binaphthyl (3b) and (S)-3-heptanoyl-2,2′-bis(methoxymethoxy)-1,1′-binaphthyl (3c). This conclusion was also confirmed by the fact that the g value of poly-3a is about 15 times of that of the monomer 3a.

Asymmetric functional organozinc additions to aldehydes catalyzed by 1,1'-bi-2-naphthols (BINOLs)

Chiral alcohols are ubiquitous in organic structures. One efficient method to generate chiral alcohols is the catalytic asymmetric addition of a carbon nucleophile to a carbonyl compound since this process produces a C-C bond and a chiral center simultaneously. In comparison with the carbon nucleophiles such as an organolithium or a Grignard reagent, an organozinc reagent possesses the advantages of functional group tolerance and more mild reaction conditions. Catalytic asymmetric reactions of aldehydes with arylzincs, vinylzincs, and alkynylzincs to generate functional chiral alcohols are discussed in this Account. Our laboratory has developed a series of 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (BINOL)-based chiral catalysts for the asymmetric organozinc addition to aldehydes. It is found that the 3,3'-dianisyl-substituted BINOLs are not only highly enantioselective for the alkylzinc addition to aldehydes, but also highly enantioselective for the diphenylzinc addition to aldehydes. A one-step synthesis has been achieved to incorporate Lewis basic amine groups into the 3,3'-positions of the partially hydrogenated H8BINOL. These H8BINOL-amine compounds have become more generally enantioselective and efficient catalysts for the diphenylzinc addition to aldehydes to produce various types of chiral benzylic alcohols. The application of the H8BINOL-amine catalysts is expanded by using in situ generated diarylzinc reagents from the reaction of aryl iodides with ZnEt2, which still gives high enantioselectivity and good catalytic activity. Such a H8BINOL-amine compound is further found to catalyze the highly enantioselective addition of vinylzincs, in situ generated from the treatment of vinyl iodides with ZnEt2, to aldehydes to give the synthetically very useful chiral allylic alcohols. We have discovered that the unfunctionalized BINOL in combination with ZnEt2 and Ti(O(i)Pr)4 can catalyze the terminal alkyne addition to aldehydes to produce chiral propargylic alcohols of high synthetic utility. The reaction was conducted by first heating an alkyne with ZnEt2 in refluxing toluene to generate an alkynylzinc reagent, which can then add to a broad range of aldehydes at room temperature in the presence of BINOL and Ti(O(i)Pr)4 with high enantioselectivity. It was then found that the addition of a catalytic amount of dicyclohexylamine (Cy2NH) allows the entire process to be conducted at room temperature without the need to generate the alkynylzincs at elevated temperature. This BINOL-ZnEt2-Ti(O(i)Pr)4-Cy2NH catalyst system can be used to catalyze the reaction of structurally diverse alkynes with a broad range of aldehydes at room temperature with high enantioselectivity and good catalytic activity. The work described in this Account demonstrates that BINOL and its derivatives can be used to develop highly enantioselective catalysts for the asymmetric organozinc addition to aldehydes. These processes have allowed the efficient synthesis of many functional chiral alcohols that are useful in organic synthesis.

Directed additions of 2-arylpyridines and related substrates to cyclic imines through rhodium-catalyzed C-H functionalization

Rhodium-catalyzed C-H functionalizations have been used for ortho-directed additions of 2-arylpyridines and (hetero)aryl-substituted pyrimidines, isoquinolines, and benzo[h]quinolones to cyclic imines. The resulting amino-functionalized products are formed in good to high yields.

Common precursor strategy for the synthesis of bestatin, amprenavir intermediate and syn-4-hydroxy-5-phenyl-γ-lactam

A synthetic strategy using α,β-unsaturated ester as a common precursor for the preparation of bestatin hydrochloride, an anticancer agent; 1,3-diaminoalcohol, an amprenavir intermediate andsyn-4-hydroxy-5-phenyl-γ-lactam, an intermediate of bioactive molecules with good yields and excellent stereoselectivity is described.

Design of novel chiral N,N,O-tridentate phenanthroline ligands and their application to enantioselective addition of organozinc reagents to aldehydes

The novel chiral N,N,O-tridentate ligands (BinThro) containing binaphthyl and phenanthroline units were developed. The enantioselective organozinc addition to aldehydes was performed in the presence of BinThro (S)-1 with up to 95% ee.

New advances in dual stereocontrol for asymmetric reactions

Achieving dual stereocontrol in asymmetric reactions using a single enantiomer for the building of the chiral catalyst or auxiliary is a very important goal in enantioselective synthesis as it eliminates the need for having available the two enantiomers of the auxiliary or catalyst designed. Recent strategies and advances towards this goal during the last four years will be discussed throughout this review.

Zinc mediated azide-alkyne ligation to 1,5- and 1,4,5-substituted 1,2,3-triazoles

A mild method for regioselective formation of 1,5-substituted 1,2,3-triazoles is described. The zinc-mediated reaction works at room temperature and is successful across a wide range of azido/alkynyl substrates. Additionally, the triazole 4-position can be further functionalized through the intermediate aryl-zinc to accommodate a diverse three-component coupling strategy.