Chiral Benzoins via Asymmetric Transfer Hemihydrogenation of Benzils: The Detail that Matters.

The synthesis of enantiomerically pure benzoins by hydrogenation of readily available benzils has been long thwarted by their base-sensitivity. We show here that an iron(II) hydride complex catalyzes the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of benzils from 2-propanol. When strictly base-free conditions are granted, excellent enantioselectivity is achieved even with o-substituted substrates, which are particularly challenging to prepare with other methods. Hence, under optimized reaction conditions, chiral benzoins were prepared in good yields (up to 83%) and excellent enantioselectivity (up to 98% ee) in short reaction times (30-75 min). Also, this work confirms that both enantiomers of the benzoin products can be accessed when a metal catalyst is used, which is a clear advantage over enzymatic methods.

The Manganese(I)-Catalyzed Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of Ketones: Disclosing the Macrocylic Privilege.

The bis(carbonyl) manganese(I) complex [Mn(CO)2 (1)]Br (2) with a chiral (NH)2 P2 macrocyclic ligand (1) catalyzes the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of polar double bonds with 2-propanol as the hydrogen source. Ketones (43 substrates) are reduced to alcohols in high yields (up to >99 %) and with excellent enantioselectivities (90-99 % ee). A stereochemical model based on attractive CH-π interactions is proposed.

Which future for stereogenic phosphorus? Lessons from P* pincer complexes of iron(ii).

PNP pincer ligands stabilise diamagnetic base metal catalysts, and much effort has been invested in the development of chiral analogues for asymmetric catalysis. Starting from the conformational issues that affect P-stereogenic diphosphines, we extend the analysis to our recently prepared P-stereogenic PNP pincer ligands, which we used in the iron(ii)-catalysed hydrogenation of ketones. Backbone rigidity and size (and shape) of the substituents at phosphorus are pivotal in both bi- and tridentate P-stereogenic ligands, and their interplay is discussed, as well as the contribution (and shortcomings) of DFT calculations to the understanding of the conformational flexibility and enantiodiscrimination.

Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation with a Bifunctional Iron(II) Hydride: Experiment Meets Computation.

Hydride cis-ß-[FeH(CNCEt3)(1)]BF4 (5) (1 is a chiral N2P2 macrocycle) is the catalytically active species in the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones formed upon reaction of [Fe(CNCEt3)2(1)](BF4)2 (3) with base. Stoichiometric reactions show that hydride 5 is formed by H-elimination from the 2-propoxo complex [Fe(O iPr)(CNCEt3)(1)]BF4 (8a) and inserts the C═O bond of acetophenone to give the diastereoisomeric alcoholato complexes [Fe(OCH(Me)Ph)(CNCEt3)(1)]BF4 (10R and 10S). Complexes 5, 8a, and 10 were characterized by NMR spectroscopy, and their structures were calculated by DFT. The DFT study supports a bifunctional mechanism with the alkoxo complexes 8a and 10 as resting species. The stereochemical model reproduces the high enantioselectivity with acetophenone, which results from the combination of the rigid macrocyclic scaffold with the bulky, yet conformationally flexible isonitrile.

Base-free Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of 1,2-Di- and Monoketones Catalyzed by a Chiral Iron(II) Hydride.

The chiral iron(II) hydride complex [FeH(CNCEt3)(1a)](BF4) (3, 1a is a chiral macrocycle with an (NH)2P2 donor set) catalyzes the base-free transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of prochiral ketones and the hemireduction of benzils to the corresponding benzoins using iPrOH as hydrogen donor. Ketones give the same excellent enantio-selectivity (up to 99% ee) as the parent catalyst [Fe(CNCEt3)2(1a)](BF4)2 (2), which is only active upon treatment with NaOtBu. Benzoins, whose labile stereocenter is known to undergo racemization under basic conditions, are formed in up to 83% isolated yield with enantioselectivity as high as 95%.

Base-Free Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of 1,2-Di- and Monoketones Catalyzed by a (NH)2 P2 -Macrocyclic Iron(II) Hydride.

The hydride isonitrile complex [FeH(CNCEt3 )(1 a)]BF4 (2) containing a chiral P2 (NH)2 macrocycle (1 a), in the presence of 2-propanol as hydrogen donor, catalyzes the base-free asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of prostereogenic ketones to alcohols and the hemihydrogenation of benzils to benzoins, which contain a base-labile stereocenter. Benzoins are formed in up to 83 % isolated yield with enantioselectivity reaching 95 % ee. Ketones give the same enantioselectivity observed with the parent catalytic system [Fe(CNCEt3 )2 (1 a)] (3 a) that operates with added NaOt Bu.

Highly enantioselective transfer hydrogenation of ketones with chiral (NH)2 P2 macrocyclic iron(II) complexes.

Bis(isonitrile) iron(II) complexes bearing a C2 -symmetric diamino (NH)2 P2 macrocyclic ligand efficiently catalyze the hydrogenation of polar bonds of a broad scope of substrates (ketones, enones, and imines) in high yield (up to 99.5 %), excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99 % ee), and with low catalyst loading (generally 0.1 mol %). The catalyst can be easily tuned by modifying the substituents of the isonitrile ligand.

Isonitrile iron(II) complexes with chiral N2P2 macrocycles in the enantioselective transfer hydrogenation of ketones.

Bis(isonitrile) iron(II) complexes bearing a C2-symmetric N2P2 macrocyclic ligand, which are easily prepared from the corresponding bis(acetonitrile) analogue, catalyze the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of a broad scope of ketones in excellent yields (up to 98%) and with high enantioselectivity (up to 91% ee).

Silica-grafted 16-electron hydride pincer complexes of iridium(III) and their soluble analogues: synthesis and reactivity with CO.

The dihydride complexes [IrH2(POCOP)] (1a) and [IrH2(PCP)] (1b) (POCOP = 1,3-bis((di-tert-butylphosphino)oxy)benzene; PCP = 1,3-bis((di-tert-butylphosphino)methyl)benzene) react with the surface silanols of mesoporous amorphous silica (SBA-15) to give H2 and the silica-grafted, 16-electron iridium(III) monohydride species [IrH(O-SBA-15)(pincer)] (2a and 2b). These materials contain a single iridium(III) species, that is a highly dispersed, coordinatively unsaturated siloxo hydride complex, as indicated by solid-state spectroscopic data. The siloxo complexes [IrH((i)Bu-POSS)(POCOP)] (3a) and [IrH((i)Bu-POSS)(PCP)] (3b) ((i)Bu-POSS = OSi8O12(i)Bu7) were prepared as soluble analogues of 2a and 2b to support their spectroscopic characterization. The coordinatively unsaturated, 16-electron species 2a and 2b react with CO to give the six-coordinate iridium(III) adducts [IrH(O-SBA-15)(CO)(POCOP)] (7a) and [IrH(O-SBA-15)(CO)(PCP)] (7b). Due to dissimilar electronic properties of the pincer ligands, 7a undergoes reductive elimination of the silanol forming the Ir(I) complex [Ir(CO)(POCOP)] (8a), whereas 7b is stable in oxidation state of III. The homogeneous siloxo carbonyl complexes [IrH((i)Bu-POSS)(CO)(POCOP)] (9a), [IrH((i)Bu-POSS)(CO)(PCP)] (9b), and [IrH(OSiMe3)(CO)(POCOP)] (11a) were prepared to substantiate the reactivity and the characterization of the silica grafted species.

A stable 16-electron iridium(III) hydride complex grafted on SBA-15: a single-site catalyst for alkene hydrogenation.

The dihydride pincer complex [IrH2(POCOP)] reacts with surface silanols of mesoporous silica (SBA-15) to give the coordinatively unsaturated, yet stable hydridesiloxo Ir(III) species [IrH(O-SBA-15)(POCOP)]. The silica-grafted complex catalyses the hydrogenation of ethene and propene at low temperature and pressure without prior activation.

Asymmetric Diels-Alder and Ficini reactions with alkylidene ß-ketoesters catalyzed by chiral ruthenium PNNP complexes: mechanistic insight.

Hydride abstraction from the ß-position of the enolato ligand of the previously reported complex [Ru(3a-H)(PNNP)]PF(6) (5a; 3a-H is the enolate of 2-tert-butoxycarbonylcyclopentanone) with (Ph(3)C)PF(6) gives the dicationic complex [Ru(6a)(PNNP)](2+) (7a) as a single diastereoisomer, which contains the unsaturated ß-ketoester 2-tert-butoxycarbonyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one (6a) as a chelating ligand. The methyl analogue 2-methoxycarbonylcyclopentanone (3b) gives [Ru(3b-H)(PNNP)]PF(6) as a mixture of noninterconverting diastereoisomers (ester group of 3b trans to P, 5b; or to N, 5c), which were separated by column chromatography. Hydride abstraction from 5b (or 5c) yields diastereomerically pure [Ru(6b)(PNNP)](2+) (7b or 7c). Complexes 7b and 7c do not interconvert at room temperature in CD(2)Cl(2) and form opposite enantiomers of the Diels-Alder adduct upon reaction with Dane's diene (1 equiv). X-ray studies of 7a, 5b, and 5c give insight into the origin of enantioselection and the sense of asymmetric induction in the previously reported asymmetric Diels-Alder and Ficini cycloaddition reactions with 2,3-disubstituted butadienes and ynamides, respectively. Stoichiometric reactions (substrate coordination, cycloaddition, and product displacement) between [Ru(OEt(2))(2)(PNNP)](2+) (2), 6b (or 6a), and Dane's diene (15, to give estrone derivatives) or N-benzyl-N-(cyclohexylethynyl)-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (17, to give cyclobutenamides) suggest that product displacement from the catalyst is turnover limiting.

Cu(I)- and Cu(II)-catalyzed cyclo- and Michael addition reactions of unsaturated ß-ketoesters.

The α-alkylidene ß-ketoesters 2-carbethoxycyclopentenone (1a) and ethyl 2-benzoylacrylate (1b) react with 1,2-dimethylbutadiene (2) (Diels-Alder), N-benzyl-N-(cyclohexylethynyl)-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (3) (Ficini reaction), ethynyl(phenyl)sulfane (4) ([2 + 2] cycloaddition), and 1,2,5-trimethyl-1H-pyrrole (5) (Michael addition) in the presence of copper(I) (6) or copper(II) triflate (7) (1-2 mol %) in dichloromethane. This convenient protocol converts 1a and 1b to the corresponding cycloaddition (8-10) or Michael addition (11) products in good yields after reaction times of 0.5-3 h without requiring purified solvents or inert gas atmosphere.

Enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions of unsaturated beta-ketoesters catalyzed by chiral ruthenium PNNP complexes.

We report here dicationic ruthenium PNNP complexes that promote the enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction of alpha-methylene beta-ketoesters with various dienes. Complex [Ru(OEt2)2(PNNP)](PF6)2, formed in situ from [RuCl2,(PNNP)] and (Et3O)PF6 (2 equiv.), catalyzes the Diels-Alder reaction of such unsaturated beta-ketoesters to give novel alkoxycarbonyltetrahydro-1-indanone derivatives (nine examples) with up to 93% ee. The crystal structure of the substrate-catalyst adduct shows that the lower face of the substrate is shielded by a phenyl ring of the PNNP ligand, which accounts for the high enantioselectivity. The attack of the diene from the open re enantioface of the unsaturated beta-ketoester is consistent with the absolute configuration of the product. A useful application of this method is the reaction with Dane's diene to give estrone derivatives with up to 99% ee and an ester-exo:endo ratio of up to 145:1 (after recrystallization). Besides the enantioselective formation of all-carbon quaternary centers, this methodology is notable because unsaturated beta-ketoesters have been rarely used in Diels-Alder reactions. Furthermore, enantiomerically pure estrone derivatives are interesting in view of their potential applications, including the treatment of breast cancer.

Ruthenium complexes with chiral tetradentate PNNP ligands: asymmetric catalysis from the viewpoint of inorganic chemistry.

This is a personal account of the application of ruthenium complexes containing chiral tetradentate ligands with a P(2)N(2) ligand set (PNNP) as catalyst precursors for enantioselective "atom transfer" reactions. Therewith are meant reactions that involve bond formation between a metal-coordinated molecule and a free reagent. The reactive fragment (e.g. carbene) is transferred either from the metal to the non-coordinated substrate (e.g. olefin) or from the free reagent (e.g. F(+)) to the metal-bound substrate (e.g.beta-ketoester), depending on the class of catalyst (monocationic, Class A; or dicationic, Class B). The monocationic five-coordinate species [RuCl(PNNP)](+) and the six-coordinate complexes [RuCl(L)(PNNP)](+) (L = Et(2)O, H(2)O) of Class A catalyse asymmetric epoxidation, cyclopropanation (carbene transfer from the metal to the free olefin), and imine aziridination. Alternatively, the dicationic complexes [Ru(L-L)(PNNP)](2+) (Class B), which contain substrates that act as neutral bidentate ligands L-L (e.g., beta-ketoesters), catalyse Michael addition, electrophilic fluorination, and hydroxylation reactions. Additionally, unsaturated beta-ketoesters form dicationic complexes of Class B that catalyse Diels-Alder reactions with acyclic dienes to produce tetrahydro-1-indanones and estrone derivatives. Excellent enantioselectivity has been achieved in several of the catalytic reactions mentioned above. The study of key reaction intermediates (both in the solid state and in solution) has revealed significant mechanistic aspects of the catalytic reactions.

Asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions of unsaturated beta-ketoesters catalyzed by chiral ruthenium PNNP complexes.

Cyclic alpha-unsaturated beta-ketoesters undergo cycloaddition with di- and trisubstituted butadienes to give tetrahydro-1-indanone derivatives with up to 93% ee in the presence of a ruthenium catalyst formed by activation of [RuCl(2)(PNNP)] with (Et(3)O)PF(6) (2 equiv) (PNNP = (1S,2S)-N,N'-bis[o-(diphenylphosphino)benzylidene]cyclohexane-1,2-diamine). The protocol has been used to prepare the estrone derivative (8R,13S,14S)-13-tert-butoxycarbonyl-3-methoxy-7,8,12,13,15,16-hexahydro-6H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-17(14H)-one as a single diastereoisomer with 85% yield and 99% ee after one crystallization step. Its absolute configuration, which has been determined by X-ray diffraction after reduction to the alcohol and esterification with camphanic chloride, is in agreement with the attack of the diene onto the open enantioface of the beta-keto ester (O-O) in the ruthenium complex [Ru(O-O)(PNNP)](2+), whose X-ray structure has been determined.

Secondary interactions or ligand scrambling? Subtle steric effects govern the iridium(I) coordination chemistry of phosphoramidite ligands.

The like and unlike isomers of phosphoramidite (P*) ligands are found to react differently with iridium(I), which is a key to explaining the apparently inconsistent results obtained by us and other research groups in a variety of catalytic reactions. Thus, the unlike diastereoisomer (aR,S,S)-[IrCl(cod)(1 a)] (2 a; cod=1,5-cyclooctadiene, 1 a=(aR,S,S)-(1,1'-binaphthalene)-2,2'-diyl bis(1-phenylethyl)phosphoramidite) forms, upon chloride abstraction, the monosubstituted complex (aR,S,S)-[Ir(cod)(1,2-eta-1 a,kappaP)](+) (3 a), which contains a chelating P* ligand that features an eta(2) interaction between a dangling phenyl group and iridium. Under analogous conditions, the like analogue (aR,R,R)-1 a' gives the disubstituted species (aR,R,R)-[Ir(cod)(1 a',kappaP)(2)](+) (4 a') with monodentate P* ligands. The structure of 3 a was assessed by a combination of X-ray and NMR spectroscopic studies, which indicate that it is the configuration of the binaphthol moiety (and not that of the dangling benzyl N groups) that determines the configuration of the complex. The effect of the relative configuration of the P* ligand on its iridium(I) coordination chemistry is discussed in the context of our preliminary catalytic results and of apparently random results obtained by other groups in the iridium(I)-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of allylic acetates and in rhodium(I)-catalyzed asymmetric cycloaddition reactions. Further studies with the unlike ligand (aS,R,R)-(1,1'-binaphthalene)-2,2'-diyl bis{[1-(1-naphthalene-1-yl)ethyl]phosphoramidite} (1 b) showed a yet different coordination mode, that is, the eta(4)-arene-metal interaction in (aS,R,R)-[Ir(cod)(1,2,3,4-eta-1 b,kappaP)](+) (3 b).