Configuration Sampling With Five-Membered Atropisomeric P,N-Ligands

Here we report a strategy for the systematic variation of atropisomeric C₁ -symmetric P,N ligands to incrementally change the position of the groups within the chiral pocket without modifying their steric parameters. More specifically, the effects of systematic modification of the nitrogen heterocycle in atropisomeric C₁ -symmetric stack ligands have been investigated in this study. The versatility and applicability of this approach has been demonstrated in mechanistically distinct catalytic enantioselective transformations, resulting in the identification of a P,N-ligand for a highly enantioselective synthesis of organoboranes.

Green Chemistry Meets Asymmetric Organocatalysis: A Critical Overview on Catalysts Synthesis

Can green chemistry be the right reading key to let organocatalyst design take a step forward towards sustainable catalysis? What if the intriguing chemistry promoted by more engineered organocatalysts was carried on by using renewable and naturally occurring molecular scaffolds, or at least synthetic catalysts more respectful towards the principles of green chemistry? Within the frame of these questions, this Review will tackle the most commonly occurring organic chiral catalysts from the perspective of their synthesis rather than their employment in chemical methodologies or processes. A classification of the catalyst scaffolds based on their E factor will be provided, and the global E factor (EG factor) will be proposed as a new green chemistry metric to consider, also, the synthetic route to the catalyst within a given organocatalytic process.

Unveiling Five Naked Structures of Tartaric Acid

The unbiased, naked structures of tartaric acid, one of the most important organic compounds existing in nature and a candidate to be present in the interstellar medium, has been revealed in this work for the first time. Solid samples of its naturally occurring (R,R) enantiomer have been vaporized by laser ablation, expanded in a supersonic jet, and characterized by Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. In the isolation conditions of the jet, we have discovered up to five different structures stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen-bond networks dominated by O-H⋅⋅⋅O=C and O-H⋅⋅⋅O motifs extended along the entire molecule. These five forms, two with an extended (trans) disposition of the carbon chain and three with a bent (gauche) disposition, can serve as a basis to represent the shape of tartaric acid. This work also reports the first set of spectroscopy data that can be used to detect tartaric acid in the interstellar medium.

Bifunctional Hydrogen Bond Donor-Catalyzed Diels-Alder Reactions: Origin of Stereoselectivity and Rate Enhancement

The selectivity and rate enhancement of bifunctional hydrogen bond donor-catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions between cyclopentadiene and acrolein were quantum chemically studied using density functional theory in combination with coupled-cluster theory. (Thio)ureas render the studied Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactions exo selective and induce a significant acceleration of this process by lowering the reaction barrier by up to 7 kcal mol-1 . Our activation strain and Kohn-Sham molecular orbital analyses uncover that these organocatalysts enhance the Diels-Alder reactivity by reducing the Pauli repulsion between the closed-shell filled π-orbitals of the diene and dienophile, by polarizing the π-orbitals away from the reactive center and not by making the orbital interactions between the reactants stronger. In addition, we establish that the unprecedented exo selectivity of the hydrogen bond donor-catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions is directly related to the larger degree of asynchronicity along this reaction pathway, which is manifested in a relief of destabilizing activation strain and Pauli repulsion.

Chiral Catalysts for Pd0 -Catalyzed Enantioselective C-H Activation

In the past few decades, processes that involve transition-metal catalysis have represented a major part of the synthetic chemist's toolbox. Recently, the interest has shifted from the well-established cross-coupling reactions to C-H bond functionalization, thus making it a current frontier of transition-metal-catalyzed reactions. Constant progress in this field has led to the discovery of enantioselective methods to generate and control various types of stereogenic elements, thereby demonstrating its high value to generate scalemic chiral molecules. The present review is dedicated to enantioselective Pd⁰ -catalyzed C-H activation, which may be considered as an evolution of Pd⁰ -catalyzed cross-couplings, with a focus on the different chiral ligands and catalysts that enable these transformations.

Chiral Aluminum Complex Controls Enantioselective Nickel-Catalyzed Synthesis of Indenes: C-CN Bond Activation

A chiral aluminum complex controlled, enantioselective nickel-catalyzed domino reaction of aryl nitriles and alkynes proceeding by C-CN bond activation was developed. The reaction provides various indenes, bearing chiral all-carbon quaternary centers, under mild reaction conditions in yields of 32 to 91 % and ee values within the 73-98 % range. The reaction mechanism and aspects of stereocontrol were investigated by DFT calculations.

Hydrogen-Bond Structure and Dynamics of TADDOL Asymmetric Organocatalysts Correlate with Catalytic Activity

The catalytic efficiency of diol-based organocatalysts has been shown to strongly depend on the diols molecular structure including hydrogen-bonding, yet, the underlying molecular-level origins have remained elusive. Herein a study on the inter- and intramolecular hydrogen-bonding of two isomeric diol-based catalysts (TADDOLs) in solution is presented: 1-Naphthyl substituted TADDOL (1nTADDOL), which exhibits high catalytic efficiency, and 2-naphthyl substituted TADDOL (2nTADDOL), which is a poor catalyst. Using nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy, comparable hydrogen-bond strengths for both TADDOLs in solution were found, however, significantly slower bonding dynamics for 1nTADDOL. In aromatic solvents, 1nTADDOL forms less, but longer-lived, intermolecular OH⋅⋅⋅π bonds to solvent molecules, as compared to 2nTADDOL. Thus, rather than previously suggested differences in intermolecular hydrogen-bonding strengths, the results suggest that the hydrogen-bonding kinetics and entropies differ for both TADDOLs, which also explains their vastly different catalytic activities.

A Facile Enantioselective Alkynylation of Chromones

The first catalytic enantioselective alkynylation of chromones is reported. In this process, chromones are silylated to form silyloxybenzopyrylium ions that lead to silyl enol ethers after Cu-catalyzed alkyne addition using StackPhos as a ligand. The outcome of the reaction is impacted by distal ligand substituents with differing electronic character and it was found that successful reactions could be achieved with different ligand congeners by using different solvents. This sequence enables access to different products by protonation or further functionalization, thus increasing complexity in a divergent manner. The transformation is high yielding over a broad scope to provide a variety of useful chromanones in high enantioselectivity.

Catalytic, Stereoselective Dihalogenation of Alkenes: Challenges and Opportunities

Although recent years have witnessed significant advances in the development of catalytic, enantioselective halofunctionalizations of alkenes, the related dihalogenation of olefins to afford enantioenriched vicinal dihalide products remains comparatively underdeveloped. However, the growing number of complex natural products bearing halogen atoms at stereogenic centers has underscored this critical gap in the synthetic chemist's arsenal. This Review highlights the selectivity challenges inherent in the design of enantioselective dihalogenation processes, and formulates a mechanism-based classification of alkene dihalogenations, including those that may circumvent the "classical" haliranium (or alkene-dihalogen π-complex) intermediates. A variety of metal and main group halide reagents that have been used for the dichlorination or dibromination of alkenes are discussed, and the proposed mechanisms of these transformations are critically evaluated.

An unusually stable chlorophosphite: What makes BIFOP-Cl so robust against hydrolysis?

Two chlorophosphites, the biphenyl-based BIFOP-Cl and the diphenyl ether-based O-BIFOP-Cl, exhibit striking differences regarding their reaction with water. While BIFOP-Cl is nearly completely unreactive, its oxo-derivative O-BIFOP-Cl reacts instantly with water, yielding a tricyclic hydrocarbon unit after rearrangement. The analysis of the crystal structure of O-BIFOP-Cl and BIFOP-Cl revealed that the large steric demand of encapsulating fenchane units renders the phosphorus atom nearly inaccessible by nucleophilic reagents, but only for BIFOP-Cl. In addition to the steric effect, a hypervalent P(III)-O interaction as well as an electronic conjugation effect causes the high reactivity of O-BIFOP-Cl. A DFT study of the hydrolysis in BIFOP-Cl verifies a higher repulsive interaction to water and a decreased leaving tendency of the chloride nucleofuge, which is caused by the fenchane units. This high stability of BIFOP-Cl against nucleophiles supports its application as a chiral ligand, for example, in Pd catalysts.

Desymmetrization of diolefinic diols by enantioselective amino-thiocarbamate-catalyzed bromoetherification: synthesis of chiral spirocycles

A facile, efficient, and highly diastereo- and enantioselective bromoetherification of diolefinic diols has been developed using an amino-thiocarbamate catalyst. Further manipulations of the bromoether products enabled entry into a new class of spirocycles which are distinctively lacking in the literature.

Towards Tartaric-Acid-Derived Asymmetric Organocatalysts

Tartaric acid is one of the most prominent naturally occurring chiral compounds. Whereas its application in the production of chiral ligands for metal-catalysed reactions has been exhaustively investigated, its potential to provide new organocatalysts has been less extensively explored. Nevertheless, some impressive results, such as the use of TADDOLs as chiral H-bonding catalysts or of tartrate-derived asymmetric quaternary ammonium salt catalysts, have been reported over the last decade. The goal of this article is to provide a representative overview of the potential and the limitations of tartaric acid or TADDOLs in the creation of new organocatalysts and to highlight some of the most spectacular applications of these catalysts, as well as to summarize case studies in which other classes of chiral backbones were better suited.