A New Family of Conformationally Constrained Bicyclic Diarylprolinol Silyl Ethers as Organocatalysts

Nonsilyl Bicyclic Secondary Amine Catalysts for the Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of α,β-Unsaturated Aldehydes

The first chiral synthesis of nonsilyl bicyclic secondary amine organocatalysts and their application to the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes are disclosed. A lower catalytic loading (5 mol %) is demonstrated for the reduction of a wide range of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes (up to 97% yield and up to 99% ee). The application of this scalable methodology is showcased for the asymmetric synthesis of bioactive molecules such as phenoxanol, citronellol, ramelteon, and terikalant.

Recent Advances in Asymmetric Synthesis of Pyrrolidine-Based Organocatalysts and Their Application: A 15-Year Update

In 1971, chemists from Hoffmann-La Roche and Schering AG independently discovered a new asymmetric intramolecular aldol reaction catalyzed by the natural amino acid proline, a transformation now known as the Hajos-Parrish-Eder-Sauer-Wiechert reaction. These remarkable results remained forgotten until List and Barbas reported in 2000 that L-proline was also able to catalyze intermolecular aldol reactions with non-negligible enantioselectivities. In the same year, MacMillan reported on asymmetric Diels-Alder cycloadditions which were efficiently catalyzed by imidazolidinones deriving from natural amino acids. These two seminal reports marked the birth of modern asymmetric organocatalysis. A further important breakthrough in this field happened in 2005, when Jørgensen and Hayashi independently proposed the use of diarylprolinol silyl ethers for the asymmetric functionalization of aldehydes. During the last 20 years, asymmetric organocatalysis has emerged as a very powerful tool for the facile construction of complex molecular architectures. Along the way, a deeper knowledge of organocatalytic reaction mechanisms has been acquired, allowing for the fine-tuning of the structures of privileged catalysts or proposing completely new molecular entities that are able to efficiently catalyze these transformations. This review highlights the most recent advances in the asymmetric synthesis of organocatalysts deriving from or related to proline, starting from 2008.

Crystal structure of 2-(bis(3,5-dimethylphenyl) ((methyldiphenylsilyl)oxy)methyl) pyrrolidine, C34H39NOSi

C34H39NOSi, triclinic, P1̅ (no. 2), a = 10.0901(2) Å, b = 11.5016(2) Å, c = 14.4098(3) Å, α = 69.207(1)°, β = 86.555(2)°, γ = 65.579(3)°, V = 1416.10(6) Å3, Z = 2, R gt(F) = 0.0463, wR ref(F 2) = 0.1200, T = 100(2) K.

Functionalised diimidazolium salts: the anion effect on the catalytic ability

How is it possible to catalyze and simultaneously control the outcome of a reaction? Employing task specific ionic liquids and changing their anions.

Crystal structure of benzyl 3-oxo-2-oxa-5-azabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-5-carboxylate

The title compound, C₁₃H₁₃NO₄ (also known as N-benzyl­oxycarbonyl-4-hy­droxy-l-proline lactone), crystallizes with two mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit. They have slightly different conformations: the fused ring systems almost overlap, but different C—O—C—C torsion angles for the central chains of −155.5 (2) and −178.6 (2)° lead to different twists for the terminal benzene ring. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are linked by C—H⋯O inter­actions, generating a three-dimensional network. The absolute structure was established based on an unchanging chiral centre in the synthesis.

The first electrocatalytic stereoselective multicomponent synthesis of cyclopropanecarboxylic acid derivatives

Multicomponent electrolysis of aldehydes and two different C–H acids in the presence of NaBr–NaOAc in a simple beaker results in stereoselective formation of trialkyl (2R*,3R*)-3-aryl-2-cyanocyclopropane-1,1,2-tricarboxylates in 52–87% yields.