Asymmetric Hydroarylation Reactions Catalyzed by Transition Metals: Last 10 Years in a Mini Review

Hydroarylation reactions play a pivotal role in organic chemistry due to their versatility and efficiency. In the last 10 years, the scientific production around this reaction has been very high, but in its asymmetric version, the results are less. In this mini review, selected literature examples are considered to draw attention to directions of the asymmetric hydroarylation reaction mediated by transition metal catalysts. The selected works were grouped in two main sections. In the first, we reported examples relating the narrower definition of hydroarylation, namely the metal-catalyzed processes where inactivated aryl moiety undergoes a direct functionalization via insertion of an unsaturated compound. In the second part, hydroarylation reactions take place with the use of pre-activated aryl substrates, usually aryl-iodides or aryl-boronated.

Rhodium-Catalyzed Enantioselective Arylation of Aliphatic Imines

Chiral rhodium(I)-catalyzed highly enantioselective arylation of aliphatic N-sulfonyl aldimines with arylboronic acids has been developed. This transformation is achieved by the use of a rhodium/bis(phosphoramidite) catalyst to give enantiomerically enriched α-branched amines (up to 99 % ee). In addition, this system enables efficient synthesis of (+)-NPS R-568 and Cinacalcet which are calcimimetic agents.

Cationic Iridium/S-Me-BIPAM-Catalyzed Direct Asymmetric Intermolecular Hydroarylation of Bicycloalkenes

Highly enantioselective cationic iridium-catalyzed hydroarylation of bicycloalkenes, by carbonyl-directed C-H bond cleavage, was accomplished using a newly synthesized sulfur-linked bis(phosphoramidite) ligand (S-Me-BIPAM). The reaction provides alkylated acetophenone or benzamide derivatives in moderate to excellent yields and good to excellent enantioselectivities. Notably, the hydroarylation reaction of 2-norbornene with N,N-dialkylbenzamide proceeds with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee) and high selectivity for the mono-ortho-alkylation product.