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.

Ruthenium catalyzed α-methylation of sulfones with methanol as a sustainable C1 source

Methylation of sulfones bearing an α-CH bond can be easily achieved via a one-step, Ru(ii) catalyzed redox neutral reaction using methanol as a sustainable C1 building block.

A Copper-Catalyzed Reductive Defluorination of β-Trifluoromethylated Enones via Oxidative Homocoupling of Grignard Reagents

An efficient copper-catalyzed reductive defluorination of β-trifluoromethylated enones via an oxidative homocoupling of Grignard reagents is reported. The reaction proceeded smoothly with a wide range of substrates, including the ones bearing aromatic heterocycles, such as furyl and thienyl ring systems in high yields (80-92%, except one example) under mild conditions. This provides a practical method for synthesis of gem-difluoroolefin ketones. It is also worth noting that this homocoupling process of Grignard reagents using β-trifluoromethylated enones as "oxidizing reagents" is effective for both the Csp²-Csp² and Csp³-Csp³ bond formations, including for substrates whose β-hydride elimination of the corresponding transition metal alkyl complex is particularly facile, affording coupling products with high yields (83-95%), simultaneously.

Synthesis and structural characterisation of Group 11 metal complexes with a phosphinoferrocene oxazoline

Interactions of phosphinoferrocene oxazolines with Group 11 metals were elucidated. The differences dictated by the metal ions are discussed.

Construction of β to carbonyl stereogenic centres by asymmetric 1,4-addition of alkylzirconocenes to dienones and ynenones

A new asymmetric addition of alkylzirconium species to dienones, a dienthioate, ynenones, and ynethionates with good yields and excellent ee's is reported.

Copper-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of organometallic reagents to extended Michael acceptors

The copper-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition (ACA) of nucleophiles onto polyenic Michael acceptors represents an attractive and powerful methodology for the synthesis of relevant chiral molecules, as it enables in a straightforward manner the sequential generation of two or more stereogenic centers. In the last decade, various chiral copper-based catalysts were evaluated in combination with different nucleophiles and Michael acceptors, and have unambiguously demonstrated their usefulness in the control of the regio- and enantioselectivity of the addition. The aim of this review is to report recent breakthroughs achieved in this challenging field.

Alkene-assisted nickel-catalyzed regioselective 1,4-addition of organoboronic acid to dienones: a direct route to all-carbon quaternary centers

A nickel-catalyzed highly regioselective 1,4-addition reaction of boronic acids to dienones to form products with an all-carbon quaternary center is described. The 3-alkenyl group of dienones is the key for the reaction to proceed smoothly. A mechanism involving the coordination of the dienyl group to the nickel center is proposed.

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.

Enantioselective 1,6-conjugate addition of dialkylzinc reagents to acyclic dienones catalyzed by Cu-DiPPAM complex-extension to asymmetric sequential 1,6/1,4-conjugate addition

CC coupling: DiPPAM 1 and BINAP 2 ligands led to divergent behaviors in the asymmetric conjugate addition (ACA) of dialkylzinc reagents to linear aryldienones, which were applied to the development of a highly selective sequential asymmetric 1,6/1,4-ACA process (see scheme; Tf = triflate, DBU = 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene).