Catalytic Asymmetric [4+2] Annulation Initiated by an Aza-Rauhut-Currier Reaction: Facile Entry to Highly Functionalized Tetrahydropyridines

Phosphine-promoted intramolecular Rauhut-Currier/Wittig reaction cascade to access (hetero)arene-fused diquinanes

We describe the first phosphine-promoted intramolecular Rauhut-Currier reaction that triggers an intramolecular Wittig process assembling new classes of diquinanes. The one-pot strategy provides ready access to simple diquinanes and various (hetero)arene-fused diquinanes incorporated with up to two contiguous all-carbon quaternary centers under metal-free and neutral conditions. We showcased the generality of the method on a broad range of substrates and demonstrated its synthetic utility in accessing various advanced intermediates relevant to natural product synthesis and material science.

Phosphine-catalyzed Rauhut-Currier reaction of γ-alkyl allenoate and subsequent trapping using the Diels-Alder reaction

We have disclosed a Rauhut-Currier reaction of γ-alkyl-substituted allenoate, catalyzed by L-valine-derived amide phosphine, to form trisubstitued allenoate, which was trapped by maleimide or DMAD via the Diels-Alder reaction. Exo-bicyclic succinimide derivatives including three continuous stereocenters with an exo-carbon-carbon double bound were constructed in up to quantitative yields with high stereospecificity.

Enantioselective Friedel-Crafts Alkylation of Indoles with β,γ-Unsaturated α-Ketoesters Catalyzed by New Copper(I) Catalysts

New Cu(I) catalysts are effective in enantioselective Friedel-Crafts alkylation of a variety of indoles with different β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters. A control study shows that such a catalyst system is less sensitive to air, and the reactions can be carried out without special cares such as glovebox operation or moisture/oxygen-free conditions. Preliminary computation results suggest that there exists π-π stacking between the substrate and the catalyst, and such an interaction seems to play a role in stabilizing the reaction intermediate and enhancing the stereoselectivity of the reactions. The desired products can be obtained in up to 98% yield at 99% enantiomeric excess. The same high enantioselectivity can be observed when the reaction is carried in a gram scale, indicating a good scalability of the catalyst system in enantioselective Friedel-Crafts alkylation of different indoles with β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Functionalized Tetrahydropyridines through Iridium-Catalyzed Formal [5+1] Annulation

An efficient iridium-catalyzed asymmetric formal [5+1] annulation by in situ generation of enamines as N-nucleophiles for the synthesis of tetrahydropyridine derivatives is disclosed. The methodology offers direct access to a wide variety of chiral tetrahydropyridine derivatives in moderate to good yields and excellent enantioselectivity.

Asymmetric Synthesis of Fused Tetrahydroquinolines via Intra­molecular Aza-Diels–Alder Reaction of ortho-Quinone Methide Imines

Aza-Diels–Alder reactions are straightforward processes for the construction of N-heterocycles, featuring inherent atom-economy and stereospecificity. Intramolecular strategies allow the formation of bicyclic core structures with up to three stereocenters within a single step. Herein, this concept is combined with the chemistry of chiral Brønsted acid bound ortho-quinone methide imines to generate a range of interesting fused tetrahydroquinolines in a diastereo- and enantioselective­ manner.

DMAP Catalyzed Domino Rauhut-Currier Cyclization Reaction between Alkylidene Pyrazolones and Nitro-olefins: Access to Tetrahydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles

Herein, we employ unsaturated pyrazolones in the Rauhut-Currier reaction for the first time. A domino Rauhut-Currier cyclization reaction has been developed between unsaturated pyrazolones and nitro-olefins. The trisubstituted tetrahydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles were obtained in moderate to high yields with excellent diastereoselectivities. A few applications including a synthesis of disubstituted tetrahydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole have been demonstrated. A preliminary catalytic asymmetric version of this process was also studied with chiral DMAP catalysts.

Synthesis of heterocyclic compounds through nucleophilic phosphine catalysis

Nucleophilic phosphine catalysis is a practical and powerful tool for the synthesis of various heterocyclic compounds with the advantages of environmentally friendly, metal-free, and mild reaction conditions. The present report summarizes the construction of four to eight-membered heterocyclic compounds containing nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur atoms through phosphine-catalyzed intramolecular annulations and intermolecular [2+2], [3+2], [4+1], [3+1+1], [5+1], [4+2], [2+2+2], [3+3], [4+3] and [3+2+3] annulations of electron-deficient alkenes, allenes, alkynes and Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates.

Design, synthesis and application of a new type of bifunctional in highly enantioselective γ-addition reactions of N-centered nucleophiles to allenoates

A novel class of cyclic phosphine derived bifunctional catalysts (Le-Phos) is reported, which can be readily prepared from inexpensive and commercially available starting materials and exhibit good performances in enantioselective γ-addition reactions of N-centered nucleophiles and allenoates under mild conditions. The salient features of this reaction include high product yields, good enantioselectivity, mild reaction conditions, and broad substrate scope and gram-scale scalability.

Exploitation of donor–acceptor cyclopropanes and N-sulfonyl 1-azadienes towards the synthesis of spiro-cyclopentane benzofuran derivatives

An efficient method for the synthesis of spiro-cyclopentane benzofuran derivatives via a MgI₂-catalyzed formal [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction between donor–acceptor cyclopropanes and N-sulfonyl 1-azadienes in good yield has been developed.

Phosphine Organocatalysis

The hallmark of nucleophilic phosphine catalysis is the initial nucleophilic addition of a phosphine to an electrophilic starting material, producing a reactive zwitterionic intermediate, generally under mild conditions. In this Review, we classify nucleophilic phosphine catalysis reactions in terms of their electrophilic components. In the majority of cases, these electrophiles possess carbon-carbon multiple bonds: alkenes (section 2), allenes (section 3), alkynes (section 4), and Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) alcohol derivatives (MBHADs; section 5). Within each of these sections, the reactions are compiled based on the nature of the second starting material-nucleophiles, dinucleophiles, electrophiles, and electrophile-nucleophiles. Nucleophilic phosphine catalysis reactions that occur via the initial addition to starting materials that do not possess carbon-carbon multiple bonds are collated in section 6. Although not catalytic in the phosphine, the formation of ylides through the nucleophilic addition of phosphines to carbon-carbon multiple bond-containing compounds is intimately related to the catalysis and is discussed in section 7. Finally, section 8 compiles miscellaneous topics, including annulations of the Hüisgen zwitterion, phosphine-mediated reductions, iminophosphorane organocatalysis, and catalytic variants of classical phosphine oxide-generating reactions.

Reactivity of Steroidal 1-Azadienes toward Carbonyl Compounds under Enamine Catalysis: Chiral Penta- and Hexacyclic Steroids

The synthesis and reactivity of a steroidal N-sulfonyl-1-azadiene, derived from 16-dehydropregnenolone acetate, toward carbonyl compounds under enamine catalysis is disclosed. An unexpected annulation reaction was observed involving an initial stereoselective conjugate addition of the in situ generated enamine to the steroidal 1-azadiene. The developed diastereoselective synthetic methodology is a novel approach to a new class of chiral pentacyclic and hexacyclic steroids.

Phosphine-catalyzed [5+1] annulation of δ-sulfonamido-substituted enones with N-sulfonylimines: a facile synthesis of tetrahydropyridines

The first phosphine-catalyzed [5+1] annulation of enones with N-sulfonylimines works efficiently to give tetrahydropyridines.

Phosphine-catalyzed [5+1] annulation of δ-sulfonamido-substituted enones with N-sulfonylimines for the synthesis of 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridines is developed. The reaction proceeds smoothly under mild reaction conditions to give the annulation products in moderate to excellent yields. Mechanistic exploration of this new annulation shows that the δ-sulfonamido-substituted enone and the N-sulfonylimine serve as C5 and C1 synthons to furnish the annulation, respectively. Using chiral phosphine as the catalyst, an asymmetric variant of the model reaction gave the chiral product in up to 73% ee.

Lewis base-catalyzed diastereoselective [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of nitrones with electron-deficient alkenes: an access to isoxazolidine derivatives

A Lewis base-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of nitrones with electron-deficient alkenes has been achieved under mild reaction conditions, affording functionalized isoxazolidines as single diastereomers in moderate to excellent yields.

Asymmetric cyanation of imines via dipeptide-derived organophosphine dual-reagent catalysis

Over the past few decades, enantioselective phosphine organocatalysis has evolved rapidly into a highly efficient catalytic strategy for a range of useful reactions. However, as restricted by the traditional catalytic modes, some important reactions, such as asymmetric Strecker-type reactions, have thus far been out of reach of this strategy. Reported herein is an application of enantioselective phosphine organocatalysis for asymmetric Strecker-type reactions, enabled by a dual-reagent catalyst system in which the key organophosphorus zwitterion intermediate, generated in situ by mixing a chiral dipeptide-derived multifunctional organophosphine with methyl acrylate, is used as a highly efficient chiral Lewis base catalyst. The high efficiency of this catalytic system is demonstrated in the asymmetric cyanation of isatin-derived ketimines and azomethine aldimines as well as in the kinetic resolution of racemic 3-substituted azomethines. Mechanistic studies provide experimental evidence for the intermediacy of the putative zwitterion and its role as a catalytically active Lewis base.

The Strecker reaction is a power method for the synthesis of cyano-substituted compounds. Here the authors report a dual-reagent system for asymmetric Strecker reactions, where an in situ formed organocatalyst/methyl acrylate zwitterionic adduct activates both the cyanide source and the electrophile.

Enantioselective intermolecular cross Rauhut-Currier reactions of activated alkenes with acrolein

The enantioselective intermolecular cross Rauhut-Currier reaction of acrolein with active olefins has been a long-standing challenge because of the competitive MBH reaction and polymerization. Herein a highly enantioselective intermolecular cross Rauhut-Currier reaction of acrolein with 3-acyl acrylates and 2-ene-1,4-diones, which is enabled by newly designed Peng-Phos catalysts. This method is scalable and highly enantioselective (up to 96% ee). Several transformations of the R-C products are carried out to showcase the synthetic utility.

Phosphine-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition of phthalazinium dicyanomethanides with allenoates: highly efficient synthesis of 1,2,3,10b-tetrahydropyrrolo[2,1-a]phthalazine derivatives

The phosphine-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition has been achieved at room temperature, providing novel heterocyclic compounds, 1,2,3,10b-tetrahydropyrrolo[2,1-a]phthalazine derivatives, as single (Z)-isomers in excellent yields (88–99% yield).

One-pot, highly efficient, asymmetric synthesis of ring-fused piperidine derivatives bearing N,O- or N,N-acetal moieties

Lactols or cyclic hemiaminals are directly used as nucleophiles in the asymmetric aza-Diels–Alder reaction to synthesize ring-fused piperidine derivatives.

Recent developments in the synthesis and utilization of chiral β-aminophosphine derivatives as catalysts or ligands

In the last few years, the research area of chiral β-aminophosphines capable of promoting a wide range of diverse organic transformations has attracted more attention.

Approach to thiazole-containing tetrahydropyridines via Aza–Rauhut–Currier reaction and their potent fungicidal and insecticidal activity

Insecticidal and fungicidal active thiazole-containing tetrahydropyridine derivatives with accurately predicted 3D QSAR model againstAphis LaburniKaltenbach and predicted potential anti-fungus target of fumarate reductase without cross resistance were synthesized.