Metal as Source of Chirality in Octahedral Complexes with Tripodal Tetradentate Ligands

Chirality at Metal in a Linear [Ag(NHC)2]+ Complex: Stereogenic C-Ag-C Axis, Atropisomerism and Role of π-π Interactions

Chirality at the metal center is a well-established concept, exemplified by numerous four- and six-coordinated complexes. Here, a pioneering example of linear chirality-at-metal is described: [Ag(NHC)2]+ (NHC=N-heterocyclic carbene). In solution, stabilizing π-π interactions preserve the chiral information of the solid state. Consequently, a novel class of atropisomers is identified, whose stereogenicity arises from hindered rotation around a C-Ag-C axis, instead of a typical C-C bond.

Stereocontrol of Metal-Centred Chirality in Rhodium(III) and Ruthenium(II) Complexes with N2N'P Ligand

Rh(III) and Ru(II) complexes, [RhCl2(κ4-N2N'P-L)][SbF6] (1) and [RuCl2(κ4-N2N'P-L)] (2), were synthesised using the tetradentate ligand L (L=N,N-bis[(pyridin-2-yl)methyl]-[2-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl]methanamine). In each case only one diastereomer is detected, featuring cis-disposed pyridine groups. The chloride ligand trans to pyridine can be selectively abstracted by AgSbF6, with the ruthenium complex (2) reacting more readily at room temperature compared to the rhodium complex (1) which requires elevated temperatures. Rhodium complexes avoid the second chloride abstraction, whereas ruthenium complexes can form the chiral bisacetonitrile complex [Ru(κ4-N2N'P-L)(NCMe)2][SbF6]2 (5) upon corresponding treatment with AgSbF6. The complex [RhCl2(κ4-N2N'P-L)][SbF6] (1) has also been used to synthesise polymetallic species, such as the tetrametallic complex [{RhCl2(κ4-N2N'P-L)}2(μ-Ag)2][SbF6]4 (6) which was formed with complete diastereoselectivity and chiral molecular self-recognition. In addition, a stable bimetallic mixed-valence complex [{Rh(κ4-N2N'P-L)}{Rh(COD)}(μ-Cl)2][SbF6]2 (7) (COD=cyclooctadiene) was synthesised. These results highlight the significant differences in chloride lability between Rh3+ and Ru2+ complexes and demonstrate the potential for complexes to act as catalyst precursors and ligands in further chemistry applications.

Functionalized Chiral Materials for Use in Chiral Sensors

Chirality represents a fundamental attribute within living systems and is a pervasive phenomenon in the natural world. The identification and analysis of chiral materials within natural environments and biological systems hold paramount importance in clinical, chemical, and biological sciences. Within chiral analysis, there is a burgeoning focus on developing chiral sensors exhibiting exceptional selectivity, sensitivity, and stability, marking it as a forefront area of research. In the past decade (2013-2023), approximately 1990 papers concerning the application of various chiral materials in chiral sensors have been published. Biological materials and nanomaterials have important applications in the development of chiral sensors, which accounting for 26.67% and 45.24% of the material-related applications in these sensors, respectively; moreover, the development of chiral nanomaterials is closely related to the development of portable and stable chiral sensors. Natural chiral materials, utilized as selective recognition units, are combined with carriers characterized by good physical and chemical properties through functionalization to form various functional chiral materials, which improve the recognition efficiency of chiral sensors. In this article, from the perspective of biological materials, polymer materials, nanomaterials, and other functional chiral materials, the applications of chiral sensors are summarized and the research prospects of chiral sensors are discussed.

Enantioseparation of organometallic compounds by electromigration techniques

Over time, chiral organometallic compounds have attracted great interest in several fields, with applications going across several disciplines of chemical, biological, medical, and material sciences. In the last decades, due to advancements in molecular design and computational modeling, the chemistry of chiral transition metal complexes had a remarkable flowering, with the development of new structures for applications in asymmetric synthesis, bioinorganic chemistry, and molecular recognition. In these fields, fast chiral analysis to determine the enantiomeric purity of organometallic structures prepared by asymmetric synthesis, and for high-throughput screening of analytes, catalysts, and reactions, is very important. Capillary electrophoresis and related techniques proved to be extremely versatile for chiral analysis, showing unsurpassed advantages compared to chromatography like low consumption of materials, production of limited amounts of waste, fast equilibration, and possibility to replace easily type and concentration of the chiral selector, among others. Furthermore, electromigration techniques may be useful to gain details about the stereochemistry of the enantiomers of new compounds and to study analyte-selector noncovalent interactions at molecular level. On this basis, this short review aims to provide the reader with a comprehensive view on the enantioseparation of organometallic compounds by electromigration techniques, examining the topic from the historical perspective and showing what was made in this field so far, an essential know-how for developing new and advanced applications in the next future.

Dynamic Configuration on a Chiral-at-Rhodium Catalyst Featuring a Flexible Tetradentate Ligand

The unique dynamic configuration of an enantioselective chiral-at-metal catalyst based on Rh(III) and a non-chiral tetradentate ligand is described and resolved. At room temperature, the catalyst undergoes a dynamic configuration process leading to the formation of two interconvertible metal-stereoisomers, remarkably without racemization. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that this metal-isomerization proceeds via a concerted transition state, which features a trigonal bipyramidal geometry stabilized by the tetradentate ligand. Furthermore, the resolved enantiopure complex shows high catalytic enantioinduction in the Friedel-Crafts reaction, achieving enantiomeric ratios as high as 99 : 1.

Synthesis of chiral-at-metal rhodium complexes from achiral tripodal tetradentate ligands: resolution and application to enantioselective Diels-Alder and 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions

An improved synthesis of the racemic rhodium compound [RhCl2(κ4 C,N,N',P-L1)] (1) containing an achiral tripodal tetradentate ligand is reported. Their derived solvate complexes [Rh(κ4 C,N,N',P-L1)(Solv)2][SbF6]2 (Solv = NCMe, 2; H2O, 3) are resolved into their two enantiomers. Complexes 2 and 3 catalyze the Diels-Alder (DA) reaction between methacrolein and cyclopentadiene and the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between methacrolein and the nitrone N-benzylidenphenylamine-N-oxide. When enantiopure (A Rh,R N)-2 was employed as the catalyst, enantiomeric ratios >99/1, in the R at C2 adduct, and up to 94/6, in the 3,5-endo isomer, were achieved in the DA reaction and in the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction, respectively. A plausible catalytic cycle that accounts for the origin of the observed enantioselectivity is proposed.

Synthesis and a Catalytic Study of Diastereomeric Cationic Chiral-at-Cobalt Complexes Based on (R,R)-1,2-Diphenylethylenediamine

Here we report the first synthesis of two diastereomeric cationic octahedral Co(III) complexes based on commercially available (R,R)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine and salicylaldehyde. Both diastereoisomers with opposite chiralities at the metal center (Λ and Δ configurations) were prepared. The new Co(III) complexes possessed both acidic hydrogen-bond donating (HBD) NH moieties and nucleophilic counteranions and operate as bifunctional chiral catalysts for the challenging kinetic resolution of terminal and disubstituted epoxides by the reaction with CO₂ under mild conditions. The highest selectivity factor (s) of 2.8 for the trans-chalcone epoxide was achieved at low catalyst loading (2 mol %) in chlorobenzene, which is the best achieved result currently for this type of substrate.

An Organometallic Isostere of an Amino Acid

An organometallic complex that mimics an amino acid, also known as an amino acid isostere, can be synthesized from a functionalized bipyridine ligand and a fac-[Re(CO)₃]⁺ center. The reaction of an achiral ligand and metal results in a racemic mixture of chiral-at-metal complexes. These metal species have amine and carboxy termini, a side chain type unit that can be varied, as well as the chiral metal that is analogous to the α carbon of an amino acid. The racemic mixtures can be separated into enantiomers by chiral chromatography, and the metal complexes can be incorporated into peptides by using solid-phase peptide synthesis.

Asymmetric construction of tetrahedral chiral zinc with high configurational stability and catalytic activity

Chiral metal complexes show promise as asymmetric catalysts and optical materials. Chiral-at-metal complexes composed of achiral ligands have expanded the versatility and applicability of chiral metal complexes, especially for octahedral and half-sandwich complexes. However, Werner-type tetrahedral complexes with a stereogenic metal centre are rarely used as chiral-at-metal complexes because they are too labile to ensure the absolute configuration of the metal centre. Here we report the asymmetric construction of a tetrahedral chiral-at-zinc complex with high configurational stability, using an unsymmetric tridentate ligand. Coordination/substitution of a chiral auxiliary ligand on zinc followed by crystallisation yields an enantiopure chiral-only-at-zinc complex (> 99% ee). The enantiomer excess remains very high at 99% ee even after heating at 70 °C in benzene for one week. With this configurationally stable zinc complex of the tridentate ligand, the remaining one labile site on the zinc can be used for a highly selective asymmetric oxa-Diels-Alder reaction (98% yield, 87% ee) without substantial racemisation.

Design and synthesis of chiral spirobifluorenes

Chiroptical spectroscopic methods serve as a practical tool for the structural characterization of chiral systems based on the interaction with polarized light. The higher sensitivity of these methods, compared with their achiral counterparts, not only enables the determination of absolute configuration and conformational preferences, but also supramolecular interactions may be monitored. In order to expand the applicability of chiroptical systems, the development of functional materials exhibiting intense chiroptical responses is essential. As a proof of principle, we previously constructed chiroptical interfaces via thioacetate-derivatized allenes. Because of the photoisomerization issues associated with allenes, we have recently proposed their replacement by spirobifluorenes to achieve robust chiroptical systems. Thus, we hereby present the design and synthesis of chiral spirobifluorenes bearing thioacetates suitable for suface functionalization.

Asymmetric catalysis with a chiral-at-osmium complex

The first example of a chiral osmium catalyst is reported in which the overall chirality originates exclusively from a stereogenic metal center (metal-centered chirality) with all coordinating ligands being achiral. The non-C2-symmetric chiral-at-metal complex contains two cyclometalated 7-methyl-1,7-phenanthrolinium heterocycles which can be described as two chelating pyridylidene remote N-heterocyclic carbene (rNHC) ligands. The octahedral coordination sphere is completed with one CO and one acetonitrile ligand. A monodentate chiral oxazoline ligand is used as a chiral auxiliary ligand to obtain enantiomerically pure chiral-at-osmium complexes (>99 : 1 e.r.). Finally, it is demonstrated that the developed chiral-at-osmium complex is suitable for ring-closing enantioselective C(sp3)-H aminations, including the first example of catalytic enantioselective cyclizations of azidoformates to chiral 2-oxazolidinones.

Bis-Cyclometalated Indazole Chiral-at-Rhodium Catalyst for Asymmetric Photoredox Cyanoalkylations

A new class of bis‐cyclometalated rhodium(III) catalysts containing two inert cyclometalated 6‐tert‐butyl‐2‐phenyl‐2H‐indazole ligands and two labile acetonitriles is introduced. Single enantiomers (>99 % ee) were obtained through a chiral‐auxiliary‐mediated approach using a monofluorinated salicyloxazoline. The new chiral‐at‐metal complex is capable of catalyzing the visible‐light‐induced enantioselective α‐cyanoalkylation of 2‐acyl imidazoles in which it serves a dual function as the chiral Lewis acid catalyst for the asymmetric radical chemistry and at the same time as the photoredox catalyst for the visible‐light‐induced redox chemistry (up to 80 % yield, 4:1 d.r., and 95 % ee, 12 examples).

Spontaneous Resolution by Crystallization of an Octanuclear Iron(III) Complex Using Only Racemic Reagents

The P and M enantiomers of the octanuclear [Fe₈ (μ₄ -O)₄ (μ-4-Cl-pz)₁₂ Cl₄ ] complex, having T symmetry, were resolved by temporary substitution of chloride ligands by racemic 4-^s Bu-phenolates and subsequent crystallization, where the (S)- and (R)-phenolates coordinate selectively to the M and P complexes, respectively. The complexes were characterized by circular dichroism analysis and X-ray structure determination. This work constitutes a rare example of enantiomeric recognition resulting in spontaneous resolution upon crystallization.

Asymmetric Photocatalysis with Bis-cyclometalated Rhodium Complexes

Aspects of sustainability are playing an increasingly important role for the development of new synthetic methods. In this context, the combination of asymmetric catalysis, which is considered one of the most economic strategies to generate nonracemic chiral compounds, and visible light as an abundant source of energy to induce or activate chemical reactions has recently gained much attention. Furthermore, the combination of photochemistry with asymmetric catalysis provides new opportunity for the development of mechanistically unique reaction schemes. However, the development of such asymmetric photocatalysis is very challenging and two main problems can be pinpointed to undesirable photochemical background reactions and to difficulties in controlling the stereochemistry with photochemically generated highly reactive intermediates. In this Account, we present and discuss asymmetric photocatalysis using one of the currently most versatile photoactivatable asymmetric catalysts, namely, reactive bis-cyclometalated rhodium(III) complexes. The catalysts contain two inert cyclometalating 5-( tert-butyl)-2-phenyl benzoxazole or benzothiazole ligands together with two labile acetonitriles, and the overall chirality is due to a stereogenic metal center. The bis-cyclometalated rhodium complexes serve as excellent chiral Lewis acids for substrates such as 2-acyl imidazoles and N-acyl pyrazoles, which, upon replacement of the two labile acetonitrile ligands, coordinate to the rhodium center in a 2-point fashion. These rhodium-substrate intermediates display unique photophysical and photochemical properties and are often the photoactive intermediates in the developed asymmetric photocatalysis reaction schemes. This combination of visible light excitation to generate long-lived photoexcited states and intrinsic Lewis acid reactivity opens the door for a multitude of visible-light-induced asymmetric conversions. In a first mode of reactivity, bis-cyclometalated rhodium complexes function as chiral Lewis acids to control asymmetric radical reactions of rhodium enolates with electron-deficient radicals, rhodium-coordinated enones with electron-rich radicals, or rhodium-bound radicals generated by photoinduced single electron transfer. The rhodium-substrate complexes in their ground states are key intermediates of the asymmetric catalysis, while separate photoredox cycles initiate radical generations via single electron transfer with either the rhodium-substrate complexes or additional photoactive compounds serving as the photoredox catalyst (secondary asymmetric photocatalysis). In a second mode of reactivity, the rhodium-substrate complexes serve as photoexcited intermediates within the asymmetric catalysis cycle (primary asymmetric photocatalysis) and undergo stereocontrolled chemistry either upon single electron transfer or by direct bond forming reactions out of the excited state. These multiple modes of intertwining photochemistry with asymmetric catalysis have been applied to asymmetric α- and β-alkylations, α- and β-aminations, β-C-H functionalization of carbonyl compounds, [3 + 2] photocycloadditions between cyclopropanes and alkenes or alkynes, [2 + 2] photocycloadditions of enones with alkenes, dearomative [2 + 2] photocycloadditions, and [2 + 3] photocycloadditions of enones with vinyl azides. We anticipate that these reaction schemes of chiral bis-cyclometalated rhodium complexes as (photoactive) chiral Lewis acids will spur the development of new photocatalysts for visible-light-induced asymmetric catalysis.