Acyclic Stereocontrol in the Additions of Nucleophilic Alkenes to α‐Chiral N ‐Sulfonyl Imines

Diastereoselective C-alkylation of aldimines, derived from chiral α-carbon heteroatom-substituted aldehydes, with triethylborane. Application to the synthesis of benzylisoquinolines

The one-pot reaction of a chiral aldehyde, p-methoxyaniline or p-fluoroaniline, and triethylborane produces the corresponding alkylated chiral amine with high yields and diastereoisomeric ratios. Stereocontrol is induced by the presence of a heteroatom in the α-position to the aldehyde. In the case of alkylation of imines derived from chiral aliphatic amines, good yields and moderate to high diastereoselectivity are obtained: yields are significantly better when the preformed imine is used in the reaction with triethyl borane, and diastereoselectivity of the reactions largely depends on the structure of the chiral aliphatic amine. The methodology is successfully applied to the synthesis of romneine, a natural benzylisoquinoline.

Diastereoselective Addition of Prochiral Nucleophilic Alkenes to α-Chiral N-Sulfonyl Imines

The Lewis-acid-promoted addition of prochiral E- and Z-allyl nucleophiles to chiral α-alkoxy N-tosyl imines is described. Alkene geometry is selectively transferred to the newly formed carbon-carbon bond, resulting in stereochemical control of C1, C2, and C3 of the resulting 2-alkoxy-3-N-tosyl-4-alkyl-5-hexene products. A computational analysis to elucidate the high selectivity is also presented. This methodology was employed in the synthesis of two naturally occurring isomers of clausenamide.

1,3-Asymmetric Induction in Diastereoselective Allylations of Chiral N-Tosyl Imines

Lewis acid mediated allylations of β-alkoxy N-tosyl imines using allyltrimethylsilane lead to 3-alkoxy homoallylic N-tosyl amines with anti-selectivity. Two methods of Cu(OTf)₂-mediated allylations are reported herein, demonstrating that diastereoselectivity can be achieved through 1,3 acyclic stereocontrol of β-chiral aldimines. Observed selectivity trends and computational evidence suggest selectivity arises through the formation of a six-membered ring chelate. The product ratios of these allylations are dependent on conformational preferences of the chelate and steric effects in the transition-state structures.

Accelerated Reactivity Mechanism and Interpretable Machine Learning Model of N-Sulfonylimines toward Fast Multicomponent Reactions

We introduce chemical reactivity flowcharts to help chemists interpret reaction outcomes using statistically robust machine learning models trained on a small number of reactions. We developed fast N-sulfonylimine multicomponent reactions for understanding reactivity and to generate training data. Accelerated reactivity mechanisms were investigated using density functional theory. Intuitive chemical features learned by the model accurately predicted heterogeneous reactivity of N-sulfonylimine with different carboxylic acids. Validation of the predictions shows that reaction outcome interpretation is useful for human chemists.