Transposition of allylic alcohols into carbonyl compounds mediated by transition metal complexes

Palladium hydroxide catalyzed isomerization of primary allylic alcohols to aldehydes: application to the formal synthesis of (-)-brevisamide

The Pd-catalyzed isomerization of primary allylic alcohols into the corresponding saturated aldehydes has been achieved at room temperature for the first time in good to excellent yields under mild conditions. The functional group compatibility in this reaction is studied, and this new methodology has been successfully applied in the synthesis of a C5-C13 tetrahydropyran ring system of (-)-brevisamide in seven steps.

Phosphoramidites: privileged ligands in asymmetric catalysis

Asymmetric catalysis with transition-metal complexes is the basis for a vast array of stereoselective transformations and has changed the face of modern synthetic chemistry. Key to this success has been the design of chiral ligands to control the regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivity. Phosphoramidites have emerged as a highly versatile and readily accessible class of chiral ligands. Their modular structure enables the formation of ligand libraries and easy fine-tuning for a specific catalytic reaction. Phosphoramidites frequently show exceptional levels of stereocontrol, and their monodentate nature is essential in combinatorial catalysis, where a ligand-mixture approach is used. In this Review, recent developments in asymmetric catalysis with phosphoramidites used as ligands are discussed, with a focus on the formation of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds.

Grafting of water-soluble phosphines to dendrimers and their use in catalysis: positive dendritic effects in aqueous media

Generations 1 to 3 of dendrimers ended by water-soluble phosphines are synthesized and their ruthenium complexes are used as catalysts in aqueous media; a slightly positive dendritic effect on the regioselectivity is observed for hydration of alkynes and a large positive dendritic effect is observed in the biphasic (water/heptane) catalysed isomerisation of allylic alcohols to ketones where the products are easily isolated and the catalyst can be reused several times, even the first generation.

Synthetic and structural studies on macrocyclic amino cyclitols--conformational chameleons

Starting from quinic acid the synthesis of 1,4-butanediol-linked macrocyclic aminocyclitols 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38 is described. Assembly was achieved by olefin cross-metathesis of appropriate cyclohexyl allyl ethers followed by ring-closing metathesis of bis-O-allyl homodimers. In all five cases studied, the only products that were formed were those resulting from direct ring-closing metathesis; the formation of larger rings was not detected. These macrocycles exhibited diverse conformational behaviour which included formation of stable separable conformers 31a and 31b as well as conformationally dynamic macrocycles 35 in which a ring flip in one cyclohexane chair conformer induces a ring flip of the other cyclohexane ring through the linking chains of the macrocycles. The activation energy for the inversion of the chair conformation in this process was determined to be about 38 kJ mol(-1), which is about 7 kJ mol(-1) lower than the activation energy for the ring flip of the unsubstituted cyclohexane ring. In all cases, the conformational studies strongly suggest that intramolecular H-bonding between 1,3-diaxially oriented amido and alcohol or ether groups exerts a decisive contribution to the overall stabilisation of the preferred cyclohexane chair conformation.