Highly Enantioselective Carbonyl–Ene Reactions of 2,3‐Diketoesters: Efficient and Atom‐Economical Process to Functionalized Chiral α‐Hydroxy‐β‐Ketoesters

Multicomponent Cyclizative 1,2-Rearrangement Enabled Enantioselective Construction of 2,2-Disubstituted Pyrrolinones

The 1,2-rearrangement reaction is one of the most important approaches to construct carbon-carbon bonds in organic synthesis. However, the development of catalytic asymmetric 1,2-rearrangements is still far from mature and often suffers from problems such as complex substrates, single product structure, and lack of synthetic application. Multicomponent reaction has been recognized as a robust tool for the synthesis of diverse and tunable products from readily available starting material. Conceptionally and practically, the development of multicomponent asymmetric 1,2-rearrangements is highly desirable. In this regard, we report herein a three-component benzilic acid-type rearrangement of 2,3-diketoesters, aromatic amines and aldehydes for the asymmetric construction of synthetically challenging pyrrolinones bearing aza-quaternary stereocenters. To the best of our knowledge, this reaction represents the first example of organocatalyzed multicomponent asymmetric 1,2-rearrangements.

Catalytic Enantioselective Biltz Synthesis

The Biltz synthesis establishes straightforward access to 5,5-disubstituted (thio)hydantoins by combining a 1,2-diketone and a (thio)urea. Its appealing features include inherent atom and step economy together with the potential to generate structurally diverse products. However, control of the stereochemistry of this reaction has proven to be a daunting challenge. Herein, we describe the first example of enantioselective catalytic Biltz synthesis which affords more than 40 thiohydantoins with high stereo- and regio-control, irrespective of the symmetry of thiourea structure. A one pot synthesis of corresponding hydantoins is also documented. Remarkably, experimental studies and DFT calculations establish the reaction pathway and origin of stereoselectivity.

Zinc chloride-catalyzed cyclizative 1,2-rearrangement enables facile access to morpholinones bearing aza-quaternary carbons

Morpholines and morpholinones are important building blocks in organic synthesis and pharmacophores in medicinal chemistry, however, C3-disubstituted morpholines/morpholinones are extremely difficult to access. Here we show the ZnCl2-catalyzed cyclizative 1,2-rearrangement for the efficient synthesis of morpholinones bearing aza-quaternary stereocenters. A series of structurally diverse C3-disubstituted morpholin-2-ones which are difficultly accessible by existing methods were efficiently constructed from readily available two achiral linear compounds. Notably, mechanistic studies reveal that this reaction proceeds via an unusual sequence of direct formal [4 + 2] heteroannulation regioselectively delivering specific α-iminium/imine hemiacetals followed by a 1,2-esters or amides shift process, which is different from the reported mechanism of the aza-benzilic ester rearrangements.

Bioinspired Total Synthesis of Hyperireflexolides A and B

Hyperireflexolides A and B were synthesized in six steps via the dearomatization and fragmentation of a simple acylphloroglucinol starting material. The dearomatized acylphloroglucinol undergoes a sequence of oxidative radical cyclization, retro-Dieckmann fragmentation, stereodivergent intramolecular carbonyl-ene reactions, and final α-hydroxy-β-diketone rearrangements to give the target natural products. This sequence is based on a biosynthetic proposal that claims the hyperireflexolides as highly rearranged polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs), which is supported by the structural revision of hyperireflexolide B.

Polyfunctionalization of vicinal carbon centers and synthesis of unsymmetric 1,2,3,4-tetracarbonyl compounds

The synthesis and characterization of organic compounds with unusual atom or functional group connectivity is one of the main driving forces in the discovery of new synthetic methods that has raised the interest of chemists for many years. Polycarbonyl compounds are such compounds wherein multiple carbonyl groups are directly juxtaposed and influence each other's chemical reactivity. While 1,2-dicarbonyl or 1,2,3-tricarbonyl compounds are well-known in organic chemistry, the 1,2,3,4-tetracarbonyl motif remains barely explored. Herein, we report on the synthesis of such 1,2,3,4-tetracarbonyl compounds employing a synthetic strategy that involves C-nitrosation of enoldiazoacetates, while the diazo functional group remains untouched. This strategy not only leverages the synthesis of 1,2,3,4-tetracarbonyl compounds to an unprecedented level, it also accomplishes the synthesis of 1,2,3,4-tetracarbonyl compounds, wherein each carbonyl group is orthogonally masked. Combined experimental and theoretical studies provide an understanding of the reaction mechanism and rationalize the formation of such 1,2,3,4-tetracarbonyl compounds.

Vicinal ketoesters – key intermediates in the total synthesis of natural products

This review summarizes examples for the application of vicinal ketoesters such as α-ketoesters, mesoxalic esters, and α,β-diketoesters as key intermediates in the total synthesis of natural products utilizing their electrophilic keto group as reactive site. Suitable key reactions are, e.g., aldol additions, carbonyl ene reactions, Mannich reactions, and additions of organometallic reagents. The vicinal arrangement of carbonyl groups allows the stabilization of reactive conformations by chelation or dipole control.

Intramolecular Tricarbonyl‐Ene Reactions and α‐Hydroxy‐β‐Diketone Rearrangements Inspired by the Biosynthesis of Polycyclic Polyprenylated Acylphloroglucinols

Structurally unique natural products pose biosynthetic puzzles whose solution can inspire new chemical reactions. Herein, we propose a unified biosynthetic pathway towards some complex meroterpenoids—the hyperireflexolides, biyoulactones, hybeanones and hypermonones. This hypothesis led to the discovery of uncatalyzed, intramolecular carbonyl‐ene reactions that are spontaneous at room temperature. We also developed an anionic cascade reaction featuring an α‐hydroxy‐β‐diketone rearrangement and an intramolecular aldol reaction to access four distinct natural product scaffolds from a common intermediate.

Cooperative Hydrogen-Bond-Donor Catalysis with Hydrogen Chloride Enables Highly Enantioselective Prins Cyclization Reactions

Cooperative asymmetric catalysis with hydrogen chloride (HCl) and chiral dual-hydrogen-bond donors (HBDs) is applied successfully to highly enantioselective Prins cyclization reactions of a wide variety of simple alkenyl aldehydes. The optimal chiral catalysts were designed to withstand the strongly acidic reaction conditions and were found to induce rate accelerations of 2 orders of magnitude over reactions catalyzed by HCl alone. We propose that the combination of strong mineral acids and chiral hydrogen-bond-donor catalysts may represent a general strategy for inducing enantioselectivity in reactions that require highly acidic conditions.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Nitrogen-Nitrogen Biaryl Atropisomers via Copper-Catalyzed Friedel-Crafts Alkylation Reaction

Nitrogen-nitrogen bonds containing motifs are ubiquitous in natural products and bioactive compounds. However, the atropisomerism arising from a restricted rotation around an N-N bond is largely overlooked. Here, we describe a method to access the first enantioselective synthesis of N-N biaryl atropisomers via a Cu-bisoxazoline-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction. A wide range of axially chiral N-N bisazaheterocycle compounds were efficiently prepared in high yields with excellent enantioselectivities via desymmetrization and kinetic resolution. Heating experiments showed that the axially chiral bisazaheterocycle products have high rotational barriers.

Further Developments and Applications of Oxazoline-Containing Ligands in Asymmetric Catalysis

The chiral oxazoline motif is present in many ligands that have been extensively applied in a series of important metal-catalyzed enantioselective reactions. This Review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the most significant applications of oxazoline-containing ligands reported in the literature starting from 2009 until the end of 2018. The ligands are classified not by the reaction to which their metal complexes have been applied but by the nature of the denticity, chirality, and donor atoms involved. As a result, the continued development of ligand architectural design from mono(oxazolines), to bis(oxazolines), to tris(oxazolines) and tetra(oxazolines) and variations thereof can be more easily monitored by the reader. In addition, the key transition states of selected asymmetric transformations will be given to illustrate the features that give rise to high levels of asymmetric induction. As a further aid to the reader, we summarize the majority of schemes with representative examples that highlight the variation in % yields and % ees for carefully selected substrates. This Review should be of particular interest to the experts in the field but also serve as a useful starting point to new researchers in this area. It is hoped that this Review will stimulate both the development/design of new ligands and their applications in novel metal-catalyzed asymmetric transformations.

Chiral Primary Amine/Ketone Cooperative Catalysis for Asymmetric α-Hydroxylation with Hydrogen Peroxide

Carbonyls and amines are yin and yang in organocatalysis as they mutually activate and transform each other. These intrinsically reacting partners tend to condense with each other, thus depleting their individual activity when used together as cocatalysts. Though widely established in many prominent catalytic strategies, aminocatalysis and carbonyl catalysis do not coexist well, and, as such, a cooperative amine/carbonyl dual catalysis remains essentially unknown. Here we report a cooperative primary amine and ketone dual catalytic approach for the asymmetric α-hydroxylation of β-ketocarbonyls with H₂O₂. Besides participating in the typical enamine catalytic cycle, the chiral primary amine catalyst was found to work cooperatively with a ketone catalyst to activate H₂O₂ via an oxaziridine intermediate derived from an in-situ-generated ketimine. Ultimately, this enamine-oxaziridine coupling facilitated the highly controlled α-hydroxylation of several β-ketocarbonyls in excellent yield and enantioselectivity. Notably, late-stage hydroxylation for peptidyl amide or chiral esters can also be achieved with high stereoselectivity. In addition to its operational simplicity and mild conditions, this cooperative amine/ketone catalytic approach also provides a new strategy for the catalytic activation of H₂O₂ and expands the domain of typical amine and carbonyl catalysis to include this challenging transformation.

The Effect of Solvent-Substrate Noncovalent Interactions on the Diastereoselectivity in the Intramolecular Carbonyl-Ene and the Staudinger [2 + 2] Cycloaddition Reactions

Noncovalent interactions (NCIs) have been identified as important contributing factors for determining selectivity in organic transformations. However, cases where NCIs between solvents and substrates are responsible for a major extent for determining selectivity are rare. The current computational study with density functional theory identifies two important transformations where this is the case: the intramolecular carbonyl-ene reaction and the Staudinger [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction. In both cases, the role of explicit solvent molecules interacting noncovalently with the substrate has been taken into account. Calculations indicate that the diastereomeric ratio would be 95.0:5.0 for the formation of tricyclic tetrahydrofuran diastereomers via the intramolecular carbonyl-ene reaction and 94.0:6.0 for the formation of the triflone diastereomers via the Staudinger [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction, which corroborates with the experiment. Interestingly, in both the cases, the calculations indicate that noninclusion of explicit solvent molecules would lead to only a small difference between the competing transition states, which leads to the conclusion that solvent-substrate NCIs are the major cause for diastereoselectivity in both the cases considered.

Convergent Synthesis of Dihydropyrans from Catalytic Three-Component Reactions of Vinylcyclopropanes, Diazoesters, and Diphenyl Sulfoxide

A novel Rh(I)/La(III) cocatalytic three-component reaction of vinylcyclopropanes, diazoesters, and diphenyl sulfoxide has been developed. The reaction gives polysubstituted dihydropyrans as the reaction products. Mechanistic studies indicate that isomerization of vinylcyclopropanes gives conjugated dienes, which then undergo [4 + 2]-cycloaddition with vicinal tricarbonyl compounds generated by oxygen atom transfer from diphenyl sulfoxide to diazoesters.

Development of a C2-Symmetric Chiral aza Spirocyclic Diol

A C₂-symmetric chiral spirocyclic diol aza-SPINOL containing a spirooxindole scaffold has been designed, synthesized, and optically resolved. The product could be synthesized on gram scale in an overall yield of 22%. Moreover, elaborations of aza-SPINOL to other chiral ligands as well as the preliminary investigation of the related bisphosphine ligand in the desymmetrization of bisallylic amide were reported.

Catalytic Enantioselective Benzilic Ester Rearrangement

We report the first examples of catalytic enantioselective benzilic ester rearrangement reaction. In the presence of a catalytic amount of Cu(OTf)₂ and a chiral box ligand under mild conditions, reaction of 2,3-diketoesters with alcohols afforded structurally diverse α-aryl(alkyl) substituted-α-hydroxy malonates (tartronic esters) in good to excellent yields with high enantioselectivities. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicated that hemiketalization, rather than the dynamic kinetic resolution of hemiketal, was the enantiodetermining step under our reaction conditions.

A nickel(ii)-catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular Alder-ene reaction of 1,7-dienes

A highly diastereo- and enantioselective intramolecular Alder-ene reaction with an alkene as the enophile has been developed by using a chiral N,N'-dioxide/nickel(ii) complex as the catalyst. This protocol provides a facile route towards the synthesis of diverse 3,4-disubstituted chroman, tetrahydroquinoline, piperidine and thiochroman derivatives in high yields with good to excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities.

F10BINOL-derived chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed enantioselective carbonyl-ene reaction: theoretical elucidation of stereochemical outcomes

An enantioselective carbonyl-ene reaction of 1,1-disubstituted olefins with ethyl glyoxylate was accomplished using an F₁₀BINOL-derived chiral phosphoric acid of which the perfluoro-binaphthyl skeleton is beneficial not only for adopting high catalytic activity but also for creating an effective chiral environment.

An F₁₀BINOL-derived chiral phosphoric acid was shown to be an effective catalyst for an enantioselective carbonyl-ene reaction of 1,1-disubstituted olefins with ethyl glyoxylate as the common enophile. The perfluoro-binaphthyl skeleton is beneficial not only for adopting high catalytic activity but also for creating an effective chiral environment for enantioselective transformations. Indeed, the reaction afforded enantio-enriched homoallylic alcohols in high yields with high enantioselectivities. Theoretical studies identified that the multi-point C–H···O hydrogen bonds and the π interactions between the substrates and the 6-methoxy-2-naphthyl substituents at the 3,3′-positions of the F₁₀BINOL skeleton play a crucial role in determining the stereochemical outcomes. The significance of the perfluoro-binaphthyl skeleton in achieving the high enantioselectivity was also evaluated through a structural analysis of the catalysts.

Synthesis of 1 H-Pyrrol-3(2 H)-ones via Three-Component Reactions of 2,3-Diketo Esters, Amines, and Ketones

An efficient one-pot, three-component reaction of 2,3-diketo esters with amines and ketones has been developed for the synthesis of 1 H-pyrrol-3(2 H)-ones. By using trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) as the additive and acetonitrile (MeCN) as the solvent, this convenient method provides a library of 1 H-pyrrol-3(2 H)-ones in moderate to good yields. The simple protocol features readily available starting materials, a straightforward process, good functional group tolerance, and broad substrate scope.

Dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformations of β-halo-α-keto esters byN,N′-dioxide/Ni(ii)-catalyzed carbonyl-ene reaction

An effective dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation of racemic β-halo-α-keto esters through carbonyl-ene reaction was realised.

Construction of Distant Stereocenters by Enantioselective Desymmetrizing Carbonyl-Ene Reaction

An efficient desymmetrizing carbonyl-ene reaction of 1-substituted 4-methylenecyclohexanes with glyoxal derivatives was thus executed by a chiral N,N'-dioxide/Ni^II catalyst, providing facile access to cyclohexene derivatives bearing two remote 1,6-related stereocenters. This distal stereocontrol methodology originates from the efficient interaction between the catalyst with enophiles, discrimination of the two chair conformations of olefinic components, and the intrinsic six-membered transition-state structure of ene process.

Lewis Acid Catalyzed Friedel-Crafts Alkylation of Alkenes with Trifluoropyruvates

A Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction of styrenes with trifluoropyruvates has been developed, which delivered allylic alcohols in excellent yields (up to 98%) using the Ni(ClO4)2·6H2O/bipyridine complex as a catalyst. The asymmetric reaction was catalyzed by the chiral Cu(OTf)2/bisoxazoline complex to afford the corresponding chiral allylic alcohols bearing trifluoromethylated quaternary stereogenic centers in moderate enantioselectivities (up to 75% ee).

Asymmetric synthesis of 1H-pyrrol-3(2H)-ones from 2,3-diketoesters by combination of aldol condensation with benzilic acid rearrangement

An efficient two-step protocol for the asymmetric synthesis of 1H-pyrrol-3(2H)-one derivatives in 99% ee from conveniently accessed 2,3-diketoesters has been developed.

Zn/Sc bimetallic relay catalysis: one pot cycloisomerization/carbonyl–ene reaction toward oxazole derivatives

A novel tandem metal relay catalytic system combining Zn(ii)-catalyzed cycloisomerization and a Sc(iii)-catalyzed carbonyl–ene reaction has been successfully developed.

Asymmetric Latent Carbocation Catalysis with Chiral Trityl Phosphate

Stable carbocations such as tritylium ions have been widely explored as organic Lewis acid catalysts and reagents in organic synthesis. However, achieving asymmetric carbocation catalysis remains elusive ever since they were first identified over one century ago. The challenges mainly come from their limited compatibility, scarcity of chiral carbocations, as well as the extremely low barrier to racemization of chiral carbenium ions. We reported here a latent concept for asymmetric carbocation catalysis. In this strategy, chiral trityl phosphate is employed as the carbocation precursor, which undergoes facile ionic dissociation upon mild external stimulation (e.g., acid, H-bonding, polar substrates) to form a catalytically active chiral ion pair for substrate activation and chiral induction. The latent strategy provides a solution for the long sought-after asymmetric carbocation catalysis as illustrated in three different enantioselective transformations.

A catalytic asymmetric carbonyl–ene reaction of β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters with 5-methyleneoxazolines

A catalytic asymmetric carbonyl–ene reaction of β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters with 5-methyleneoxazolines was accomplished. The process was based on the utilization of a chiral N,N′-dioxide/Mg^II catalyst, providing the desired products with excellent outcomes.

Ruthenium-catalyzed reductive amination without an external hydrogen source

A ruthenium-catalyzed reductive amination without an external hydrogen source has been developed using carbon monoxide as the reductant and ruthenium(III) chloride (0.008-2 mol %) as the catalyst. The method was applied to the synthesis of antianxiety agent ladasten.