Recent advances in Pd-catalyzed asymmetric cyclization reactions

Over the past few decades, there have been major developments in transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric cyclization reactions, enabling the convenient access to a wide spectrum of structurally diverse chiral carbo- and hetero-cycles, common skeletons found in fine chemicals, natural products, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials. In particular, a plethora of enantioselective cyclization reactions have been promoted by chiral palladium catalysts owing to their outstanding features. This review aims to collect the latest advancements in enantioselective palladium-catalyzed cyclization reactions over the past eleven years, and it is organized into thirteen sections depending on the different types of transformations involved.

Enantioselective Palladium-Catalyzed Domino Carbonylative Heck Esterification of o-Iodoalkenylbenzenes with Arylboronic Acids

The current investigation presents an innovative palladium-catalyzed asymmetric carbonylative Heck esterification method. This approach facilitates the efficient synthesis of various chiral γ-ketoacid esters by utilizing o-alkenyliodobenzenes and arylboronic acids as primary substrates. This reaction achieves the creation of three carbon-carbon bonds, two carbon-oxygen bonds, and the establishment of a quaternary carbon center within a single step. The α-chiral γ-ketoacid esters were obtained in yields ranging from good to high yields, displaying enantiomeric excesses (ee's) levels up to 92% under mild reaction conditions.

Stereoelectronic Effect in the Reaction of α-Methylene Lactones with Tertiary Phosphines and Its Application in Organocatalysis

The kinetic data indicate that the addition of tertiary phosphines to α-methylene lactones in acetic acid is strongly accelerated in comparison to the reactions of related open-chain esters. Six-membered α-methylene-δ-valerolactone exhibited a more pronounced rate increase than five-membered α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone. The use of α-methylene-γ-butyrolactam as a nitrogen analogue of α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone resulted in a total loss of the reaction acceleration. The observed reactivities were rationalized by DFT calculations at the RwB97XD/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory, showing that the intramolecular interaction between phosphonium and enolate oxygen centers provided by the locked s-cis-geometry of the heterocycles plays an important role in the stabilization of intermediate zwitterions. The reactivity is also controlled by the conformational flexibility of the heterocycle. The geometries of five-membered and, especially, six-membered lactone cycles are slightly changed upon the nucleophilic attack of phosphine, leading to the stabilizing stereoelectronic effect by the Ρ···Ο interaction. The addition of phosphine to α-methylene-γ-butyrolactam significantly distorts the initial geometry of the heterocycle, making the nucleophilic attack unfavorable. The application of the stereoelectronic effect to enhance the efficiency of the phosphine-catalyzed Michael and Pudovik reactions of α-methylene lactones was demonstrated.

Palladium-catalyzed enantioselective carbonylation reactions

Carbonylation, one of the most powerful approaches to the preparation of carbonylated compounds, has received significant attention from researchers active in various fields. Indeed, impressive progress has been made on this subject over the past few decades. Among the various types of carbonylation reactions, asymmetric carbonylation is a straightforward methodology for constructing chiral compounds. Although rhodium-catalyzed enantioselective hydroformylations have been discussed in several elegant reviews, a general review on palladium-catalyzed asymmetric carbonylations is still missing. In this review, we summarize and discuss recent achievements in palladium-catalyzed asymmetric carbonylation reactions. Notably, this review’s contents are categorized by reaction type.

Palladium-catalyzed tandem Heck/carbonylation/aminocarbonylation en route to chiral heterocyclic α-ketoamides

An unprecedented tandem carbonylation/aminocarbonylation triggered by palladium-catalyzed enantioselective Heck-type exocyclopalladation delivering chiral heterocyclic α-ketoamides has been developed.

Diastereoselective Alkene Hydroesterification Enabling the Synthesis of Chiral Fused Bicyclic Lactones

Palladium-catalysed diastereoselective hydroesterification of alkenes assisted by the coordinative hydroxyl group in the substrate afforded a variety of chiral γ-butyrolactones bearing two stereocenters. Employing the carbonylation-lactonization products as the key intermediates, the route from the alkenes with single chiral center to chiral THF-fused bicyclic γ-lactones containing three stereocenters was developed.

Kinetic Resolution of 2,2-Disubstituted Dihydroquinolines through Chiral Phosphoric Acid-Catalyzed C6-Selective Asymmetric Halogenations

A novel kinetic resolution of 2,2-disubstituted dihydroquinolines was achieved by regioselective asymmetric halogenations enabled by chiral phosphoric acid catalysis. A series of dihydroquinolines bearing 2,2-disubstitutions were well-tolerated in these reactions, generating both the recovered dihydroquinolines and C-6-brominated products with high enantioselectivities, with s-factors up to 149. In addition, this kinetic resolution protocol is also applicable for 2,2-disubstituted tetrahydroquinoline and asymmetric iodonation reaction.

Enantioselective Hydroesterificative Cyclization of 1,6-Enynes to Chiral γ-Lactams Bearing a Quaternary Carbon Stereocenter

A palladium-catalyzed asymmetric hydroesterification-cyclization of 1,6-enynes with CO and alcohol was developed to efficiently prepare a variety of enantioenriched γ-lactams bearing a chiral quaternary carbon center and a carboxylic ester group. The approach featured good to high chemo-, region-, and enantioselectivities, high atom economy, and mild reaction conditions as well as broad substrate scope. The correlation between the multiple selectivities of such process and the N-substitutes of the amide linker in the 1,6-enyne substrate has been depicted by the crystallographic evidence and control experiments.

Palladium-Catalyzed Enantioselective 7-exo-Trig Carbopalladation/Carbonylation: Cascade Reactions To Achieve Atropisomeric Dibenzo[b,d]azepin-6-ones

Enantioselective 7-exo-trig cyclocarbopalladation-initiated carbonylation cascade reactions, leading to seven-membered dibenzo[b,d]azepin-6-ones containing a thermodynamically controlled stereogenic axis, have been realized for the first time. A series of 7-acetate- or 7-acetamide-substituted dibenzo[b,d]azepin-6-ones are obtained under atmospheric pressure of CO in good yields with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities. The calculated energy difference between the diastereoisomers generated from the stereogenic biaryl axis and the stereogenic center is approximately 2.8 kcal/mol, which agrees with the excellent diastereoselectivity observed.