New chiral ferrocenyl amidophosphine ligand for remarkable improvement of enantioselectivities in copper-catalyzed addition of diethylzinc to N-sulfonylimines

Ferrocene phosphane-heteroatom/carbon bidentate ligands in asymmetric catalysis

A review of chiral ferrocene ligands featuring a combination of phosphorus and other elements as donor atoms in the asymmetric catalysis.

Stereoselective formation of amines by nucleophilic addition to azomethine derivatives

This chapter describes state-of-the-art methods to prepare α-chiral amines by the addition of nonstabilized nucleophiles to imine derivatives. The first part of the chapter illustrates the most effective diastereoselective addition reaction (substrate controlled and chiral auxiliary based methods) whereas the second part focuses on catalytic asymmetric methods.

Formation of C-C Bonds via Iridium-Catalyzed Hydrogenation and Transfer Hydrogenation

The formation of C-C bonds via catalytic hydrogenation and transfer hydrogenation enables carbonyl and imine addition in the absence of stoichiometric organometallic reagents. In this review, iridium-catalyzed C-C bond-forming hydrogenations and transfer hydrogenations are surveyed. These processes encompass selective, atom-economic methods for the vinylation and allylation of carbonyl compounds and imines. Notably, under transfer hydrogenation conditions, alcohol dehydrogenation drives reductive generation of organoiridium nucleophiles, enabling carbonyl addition from the aldehyde or alcohol oxidation level. In the latter case, hydrogen exchange between alcohols and π-unsaturated reactants generates electrophile-nucleophile pairs en route to products of hydro-hydroxyalkylation, representing a direct method for the functionalization of carbinol C-H bonds.

Evaluation of enantiopure N-(ferrocenylmethyl)azetidin-2-yl(diphenyl)methanol for catalytic asymmetric addition of organozinc reagents to aldehydes

A facile and practical approach to preparation of enantiopure N-(ferrocenylmethyl)azetidin-2-yl(diphenyl)methanol was developed from cheap and easily available l-(+)-methionine. Synthetic highlights include the three-step, one-pot construction of the chiral azetidine ring and the development of an improved one-step procedure for the synthesis of the key intermediate l-2-amino-4-bromobutanoic acid. Enantiopure N-(ferrocenylmethyl)azetidin-2-yl(diphenyl)methanol was evaluated for catalytic asymmetric addition of organozinc reagents to aldehydes. The asymmetric ethylation, methylation, arylation, and alkynylation of aldehydes achieved enantioselectivity of up to 98.4%, 94.1%, 99.0%, and 84.6% ee, respectively, in the presence of a catalytic amount of chiral N-(ferrocenylmethyl)azetidin-2-yl(diphenyl)methanol. Our results demonstrated further that the four-membered heterocycle-based backbone was a good potential chiral unit for the catalytic asymmetric induction reaction, and the hindrance of the bulky ferrocenyl group, compared to a phenyl group, played an important role in the enantioselectivities. A possible transition for the catalytic asymmetric addition has been proposed on the basis of the crystal structure of the chiral ligand 3b including two HOAc molecules and previous studies.

Recent Applications of Chiral Ferrocene Ligands in Asymmetric Catalysis

Despite the impressive progress achieved in asymmetric catalysis during the last decade, an increasing number of new catalysts, ligands, and applications are reported every year to satisfy the need to embrace a wider range of reactions and to improve the efficiency of existing processes. Because of their availability, unique stereochemical aspects, and wide variety of coordination modes and possibilities for the fine-tuning of the steric and electronic properties, ferrocene-based ligands constitute one of the most versatile ligand architectures in the current scenario of asymmetric catalysis. Over the last few years ferrocene catalysts have been successfully applied in an amazing variety of enantioselective processes. This Review documents these recent advances, with special emphasis on the most innovative asymmetric processes and the development of novel, efficient types of ferrocene ligands.