A Chiral Bipyridyl Alcohol for Catalytic Enantioselective Nozaki-Hiyama-Kishi Allylation of Aldehydes and Ketones

Development of a Strategy for Linear-Selective Cu-Catalyzed Reductive Coupling of Ketones and Allenes for the Synthesis of Chiral γ-Hydroxyaldehyde Equivalents

We report the development of a stereoselective method for the allylation of ketones utilizing N-substituted allyl equivalents generated from a chiral allenamide. By choice of the appropriate ligand for the Cu-catalyst, high linear selectivity can be obtained with good diastereocontrol. This methodology allows access to chiral γ-hydroxyaldehyde equivalents that were applied in the synthesis of chiral γ-lactones and 2,5-disubstitued tetrahydrofurans.

Ligand-controlled diastereodivergent, enantio- and regioselective copper-catalyzed hydroxyalkylboration of 1,3-dienes with ketones

A ligand-controlled diastereodivergent copper-catalyzed borylative coupling between 1,3-dienes and ketones enables the enantioselective synthesis of densely functionalized tertiary homoallylic alcohols.

A copper-catalyzed three-component coupling of 1,3-dienes, bis(pinacolato)diboron, and ketones allows for the chemo-, regio-, diastereo- and enantioselective assembly of densely functionalized tertiary homoallylic alcohols. The relative configuration of the vicinal stereocenters is controlled by the chiral ligand employed. Subsequent transformations illustrate the versatility of these valuable chiral building blocks.

Self-assembled organic nanotube promoted allylation of ketones in aqueous phase

A self-assembled organic nanotube was found to promote the allylation of ketones in the aqueous phase.

CuH-Catalyzed Enantioselective Ketone Allylation with 1,3-Dienes: Scope, Mechanism, and Applications

Chiral tertiary alcohols are important building blocks for the synthesis of pharmaceutical agents and biologically active natural products. The addition of carbon nucleophiles to ketones is the most common approach to tertiary alcohol synthesis but traditionally relies on stoichiometric organometallic reagents that are difficult to prepare, sensitive, and uneconomical. We describe a mild and efficient method for the copper-catalyzed allylation of ketones using widely available 1,3-dienes as allylmetal surrogates. Homoallylic alcohols bearing a wide range of functional groups are obtained in high yield and with good regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivity. Mechanistic investigations using density functional theory (DFT) implicate the in situ formation of a rapidly equilibrating mixture of isomeric copper(I) allyl complexes, from which Curtin-Hammett kinetics determine the major isomer of the product. A stereochemical model is provided to explain the high diastereo- and enantioselectivity of this process. Finally, this method was applied to the preparation of an important drug, ( R)-procyclidine, and a key intermediate in the synthesis of several pharmaceuticals.

Enantioselective Allylation Using Allene, a Petroleum Cracking Byproduct

Allene (C₃H₄) gas is produced and separated on million-metric-ton scale per year during petroleum refining but is rarely employed in organic synthesis. Meanwhile, the addition of an allyl group (C₃H₅) to ketones is among the most common and prototypical reactions in synthetic chemistry. Herein, we report that the combination of allene gas with inexpensive and environmentally benign hydrosilanes, such as PMHS, can serve as a replacement for stoichiometric quantities of allylmetal reagents, which are required in most enantioselective ketone allylation reactions. This process is catalyzed by copper salts and commercially available ligands, operates without specialized equipment or pressurization, and tolerates a broad range of functional groups. Furthermore, the exceptional chemoselectivity of this catalyst system enables industrially relevant C3 hydrocarbon mixtures of allene with methylacetylene and propylene to be applied directly.

Method for Catalytic Enantioselective Alkylation of Aldehydes Using Grignard Reagents as Alkyl Sources

Alkyltitanium reagents, generated in situ from Grignard reagents and ClTi(O ⁱPr)₃, can be employed without further manipulation in the enantioselective alkylation of aldehyde by the catalysis of a chiral titanium complex derived from DTBP-H₈-BINOL. The reaction is performed with good stoichiometry [1.5 equiv each of Grignard reagents and ClTi(O ⁱPr)₃] at a low catalyst loading (2 mol %), affording a variety of chiral secondary alcohols in high enantioselectivity and yields and, hence, realizing an asymmetric version of the Grignard reaction in an indirect manner.

A Regio- and Enantioselective CuH-Catalyzed Ketone Allylation with Terminal Allenes

We report a method for the highly enantioselective CuH-catalyzed allylation of ketones that employs terminal allenes as allylmetal surrogates. Ketones and allenes bearing diverse and sensitive functional groups are efficiently coupled with high stereoselectivity and exclusive branched regioselectivity. In stoichiometric experiments, each elementary step of the proposed hydrocupration-addition-metathesis mechanism can be followed by NMR spectroscopy.

Enantioselective Nozaki–Hiyama–Kishi allylation-lactonization for the syntheses of 3-substituted phthalides

A chromium-catalyzed enantioselective Nozaki–Hiyama–Kishi allylation of substituted (2-ethoxycarbonyl)benzaldehydes and subsequent lactonization to synthesize phthalides with an optimal enantioselectivity of 99%.

Enantioselective Barbier-type allylation of ketones using allyl halide and indium in water

We disclose herein an efficient enantioselective Barbier-type allylation of ketones using allyl halide and indium metal in water.

Chromium(II)-catalyzed enantioselective arylation of ketones

The chromium-catalyzed enantioselective addition of carbo halides to carbonyl compounds is an important transformation in organic synthesis. However, the corresponding catalytic enantioselective arylation of ketones has not been reported to date. Herein, we report the first Cr-catalyzed enantioselective addition of aryl halides to both arylaliphatic and aliphatic ketones with high enantioselectivity in an intramolecular version, providing facile access to enantiopure tetrahydronaphthalen-1-ols and 2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-ols containing a tertiary alcohol.