Highly enantioselective Rh-catalyzed hydrogenation based on phosphine-phosphite ligands derived from carbohydrates.

A new class of efficient catalysts was developed for the asymmetric hydrogenation of alpha,beta-unsaturated carboxylic acid derivatives by synthesizing a series of novel phosphine-phosphite ligands (4a-d) derived from readily available D-(+)-xylose. Excellent enantioselectivities (> 99%) were achieved under very mild reaction conditions (1 bar H(2) and 20 degrees C). Varying the biphenyl substituents in the phosphite moiety greatly affected the enantioselectivity in the hydrogenation reactions. The results also indicate that the sense of enantioselectivity is mainly controlled by the configuration of the phosphite moiety. (31)P[(1)H] NMR and kinetic studies on intermediates of the catalytic cycle show that the [Rh(P(1)-P(2))(enamide)]BF(4) species is the resting state and that the rate dependence is first order in rhodium and hydrogen pressure and zero order in enamide concentration.

Modular furanoside phosphite ligands for asymmetric Pd-catalyzed allylic substitution.

A series of diphosphite, phosphine-phosphite, and thioether-phosphite ligands 1-5 with a furanoside backbone have been used in the enantioselective palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution of rac-1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate giving low to high enantioselectivies (from close to 0% to 97% ee). The modular nature of these ligands enables systematic investigations of the effect of the ligand structure on the enantioselectivity. The enantioselectivity is mainly determined by the configuration of the stereogenic center C-3 of the furanose backbone. From this we conclude that the attack of the nucleophile takes place trans toward the donating group at the stereogenic C-5 atom. Systematic variation of the donor group attached to the carbon atom C-5 indicated that the presence of a bulky phosphite functionality has a positive effect on enantioselectivity. Thus, the highest ee's are obtained using the bulky diphosphite ligand 1b containing a xylofuranoside backbone.

Chiral phosphine-phosphite ligands in the highly enantioselective rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation.

We have investigated a series of enantiopure phosphine-phosphite ligands (P(1)-P(2) = ligands 1-4) in the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation reaction. Intermediate [Rh(P(1)-P(2))(cod)]BF(4) and [Rh(P(1)-P(2))(5)]BF(4) complexes (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene; 5 = methyl acetamidoacrylate ester) were observed by (31)P[(1)H] NMR. The [Rh(P(1)-P(2))(cod)]BF(4) complexes were precursors to active catalysts of the asymmetric hydrogenation reaction of several prochiral dehydroamino acid derivatives under mild reaction conditions (1 bar of hydrogen and 20 degrees C). The enantiomeric excess reached up to 99%.

Chiral diphosphites derived from D-glucose: new ligands for the asymmetric catalytic hydroformylation of vinyl arenes.

A series of novel diphosphite ligands derived from readily available D-(+)-glucose has been synthesized. These ligands have been applied to the Rh-catalyzed hydroformylation of vinyl arenes. Both excellent enantioselectivities (up to 91%) and regioselectivities (up to 98.8%) were achieved under mild conditions. The advantage of these ligands is that their modular natures allow facile, systematic variation in the configurations at the stereocenters [C(3), C(5)] at the ligand bridge and in the biphenyl substituents, enabling their effects on the stereoselectivity to be studied. Results show that the absolute configuration of the product is governed by the configuration at the stereogenic center C(3), while the level of the enantioselectivity is influenced by a cooperative effect between stereocenters C(3) and C(5). Replacement of the tert-butyl substituent by methoxy substituents at the para positions of the biphenyl moieties improved the enantioselectivities. We have characterized the rhodium complexes formed under CO/H2 by NMR techniques and in situ IR spectroscopy and have observed that there is a relationship between the structure of the [HRh(CO)2(PP)] species and their enantiodiscriminating performance in hydroformylation. Enantioselectivities were highest with ligands with a strong bis-equatorial coordination preference, while an equilibrium of species with bis-equatorial and equatorial-axial coordination modes considerably reduced the ee's.

Dynamic kinetic resolution of beta-azido alcohols. An efficient route to chiral aziridines and beta-amino alcohols.

Enzymatic resolution of beta-azido alcohols in combination with ruthenium-catalyzed alcohol isomerization led to a successful dynamic kinetic resolution. A variety of racemic beta-azido alcohols were efficiently transformed to the corresponding enantiomerically pure acetates (ee up to 99% and conversion up to 98%). The synthetic utility of this procedure has been illustrated by the practical synthesis of (S)-propanolol I and (R)-beta-azido-alpha-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethanol ((R)-1c), a direct precursor of denopamine II.

Studies on the mechanism of metal-catalyzed hydrogen transfer from alcohols to ketones.

The mechanism of metal-catalyzed hydrogen transfer from alcohols to ketones has been studied. Hydrogen transfer (H-transfer) from (S)-alpha-deutero-alpha-phenylethanol ((S)-1) to acetophenone was used as a probe to distinguish between selective carbon-to-carbon H-transfer and nonselective transfer involving both oxygen-to-carbon and carbon-to-carbon H-transfer. The progress of the reaction was monitored by the decreasing enantiomeric excess of (S)-1. After complete racemization, the alcohol was analyzed for its deuterium content in the alpha-position, which is a measure of the degree of selectivity in the H-transfer. A number of different rhodium, iridium, and ruthenium complexes (in total 21 complexes) were investigated by using this probe. For all rhodium complexes a high degree of retention of deuterium at alpha-carbon (95-98%) was observed. Also most iridium complexes showed a high degree of retention of deuterium. However, the results for the ruthenium complexes show that there are two types of catalysts: one that gives a high degree of deuterium retention at alpha-carbon and another that gives about half of the deuterium content at alpha-carbon (37-40%). Two different mechanisms are proposed for transition-metal-catalyzed hydrogen transfer, one via a monohydride (giving a high D content) and another via a dihydride (giving about half of D content). As comparison non-transition-metal-catalyzed hydrogen transfer was studied with the same probe. Aluminum- and samarium-catalyzed racemization of (S)-1 gave 75-80% retention of deuterium in the alpha-position of the alcohol, and involvement of an electron transfer pathway was suggested to account for the loss of deuterium.