Enantioselective Cobalt-Catalyzed Intermolecular Hydroacylation of 1,6-Enynes

We report a cobalt-catalyzed hydroacylation of 1,6-enynes with exogenous aldehydes in a domino sequence to construct enantioenriched ketones. The products were obtained in good yields with excellent regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivity. Furthermore, the chiral products served as valuable precursors to access complex spirocyclic scaffolds with three contiguous stereocenters. The asymmetric hydroacylation process exhibited no C-H crossover and no KIE, thus indicating that the C-H bond cleavage was not involved in the turnover-limiting step.

Diastereoselective Radical Hydroacylation of Alkylidenemalonates with Aliphatic Aldehydes Initiated by Photolysis of Hypervalent Iodine(III) Reagents

Diastereoselective radical hydroacylation of chiral alkylidenemalonates with aliphatic aldehydes is realized by the combination of a hypervalent iodine(III) reagent and UV-light irradiation. The reaction is initiated by the photolysis of hypervalent iodine(III) reagents under mild, metal-free conditions, and is the first example of diastereoselective addition of acyl radicals to olefins to afford chiral ketones in a highly stereoselective fashion. The obtained optically active ketones are useful chiral synthons, as exemplified by the short formal synthesis of (-)-methyleneolactocin.

Vaulted biaryls in catalysis: A structure-activity relationship guided tour of the immanent domain of the VANOL ligand

The active site in the BOROX catalyst is a chiral polyborate anion (boroxinate) that is assembled in situ from three equivalents of B(OPh)3 and one of the VANOL ligand by a molecule of substrate. The substrates are bound to the boroxinate by H bonds to oxygen atoms O1-O3. The effects of introducing substituents at each position of the naphthalene core of the VANOL ligand are systematically investigated in an aziridination reaction. Substituents in the 4,4'- and 8,8'-positions have a negative effect on catalyst performance, whereas, substituents in the 7- and 7'-positions have the biggest impact in a positive direction.