We have examined the use of our bis(sulfonamide) diol ligand (1) in the asymmetric addition of phenyl groups to cyclic , -unsaturated ketones. Good to excellent enantioselectivities have been obtained with cyclic enones bearing alkyl substituents in the 2 position (71–97% enantiomeric excess). Furthermore, excellent enantioselectivities have been observed in the asymmetric phenylation of cyclic...

Alkynyl aziridines can be obtained from the catalytic asymmetric aziridination (AZ reaction) of alkynyl imines with diazo compounds in high yields and high asymmetric inductions mediated by a chiral boroxinate or BOROX catalyst. In contrast to the AZ reaction with aryl- and alkyl-substituted imines, alkynyl imines react to give cis-substituted aziridines with both diazo esters and diazo acetami...

Singly occupied molecular orbital (SOMO) activation provides a pathway for asymmetric a-addition to aldehydes. The scope of SOMO activation includes the allylation, enolation, vinylation, styrenation, chlorination, polyene cyclization, and arylation of a range of aldehydes. This union of organocatalysis with single-electron oxidative coupling is an intricate process involving the complex balanc...

Chiral metal catalysts have been widely applied to asymmetric transformations. However, the electronic structure of the catalyst and how it contributes to the activation of the substrate is seldom investigated. Here, we report an empirical approach for providing insights into the catalytic activation process in the distorted Ni(II)-catalysed asymmetric [3+2] cycloaddition of α-ketoesters. We qu...

Catalytic asymmetric endo-selective [3+2] cycloaddition reactions of Schiff bases of α-aminophosphonates with olefins are described. While the efficient asymmetric synthesis of several phosphonate analogues of proline derivatives is important in bioorganic chemistry, a direct catalytic method to prepare optically active endo [3+2] cycloadducts of α-aminophosphonates with olefins has never been ...

Reactions proceeding through cationic intermediates that lack a Lewis or Brønsted basic site present a challenge for traditional asymmetric catalysis based on chiral metals or organocatalysts. We present an enantioselective ring opening of tetrasubstituted meso-aziridinium ions with alcohol nucleophiles proceeding through a chiral ion pair with a binaphthol-phosphate anion. The reaction is init...

A mild method for the regioselective coupling of propargyl alcohols and allylsilanes is described. The method employs an air- and moisture-tolerant rhenium-oxo complex ((dppm)ReOCl3) as a catalyst for the formation of sp3-carbon-sp3-carbon bonds without the need for prior activation of the propargyl alcohol as a halide or pseudohalide. The stability of the high oxidation state rhenium complex a...

Due to the high versatility of chiral cyanohydrins, the catalytic asymmetric cyanation reaction of carbonyl compounds has attracted widespread interest. However, efficient protocols that function at a preparative scale with low catalyst loading are still rare. Here, asymmetric counteranion-directed Lewis acid organocatalysis proves to be remarkably successful in addressing this problem and enab...

Asymmetric epoxidation of various styrenes using carbocyclic oxazolidinone-containing ketone 3 has been investigated. High enantioselectivity (89-93% enantiomeric excess) has been attained for this challenging class of alkenes. Mechanistic studies show that substituents on the ketone catalyst can have electronic influences on secondary orbital interactions, which affects the competition between...