Palladium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Conjugate Addition of Arylboronic Acids to Five-, Six-, and Seven-Membered β-Substituted Cyclic Enones: Enantioselective Construction of All-Carbon Quaternary Stereocenters

The first enantioselective Pd-catalyzed construction of all-carbon quaternary stereocenters via 1,4-addition of arylboronic acids to β-substituted cyclic enones is reported. Reaction of a wide range of arylboronic acids and cyclic enones using a catalyst prepared from Pd(OCOCF_3)_2 and a chiral pyridinooxazoline ligand yields enantioenriched products bearing benzylic stereocenters. Notably, this transformation is tolerant to air and moisture, providing a practical and operationally simple method of synthesizing enantioenriched all-carbon quaternary stereocenters

A Multicatalytic Approach to the Hydroaminomethylation of α-Olefins.

We report an approach to conducting the hydroaminomethylation of diverse α-olefins with a wide range of alkyl, aryl, and heteroarylamines at relatively low temperatures (70-80 °C) and pressures (1.0-3.4 bar) of synthesis gas. This approach is based on simultaneously using two distinct catalysts that are mutually compatible. The hydroformylation step is catalyzed by a rhodium diphosphine complex, and the reductive amination step, which is conducted as a transfer hydrogenation with aqueous, buffered sodium formate as the reducing agent, is catalyzed by a cyclometallated iridium complex. By adjusting the ratio of CO to H2 , we conducted the reaction at one atmosphere of gas with little change in yield. A diverse array of olefins and amines, including hetreroarylamines that do not react under more conventional conditions with a single catalyst, underwent hydroaminomethylation with this new system, and the pharmaceutical ibutilide was prepared in higher yield and under milder conditions than with a single catalyst

A Catalytic, Enantioselective Formal Synthesis of (+)-Dichroanone and (+)-Taiwaniaquinone H

A catalytic, enantioselective formal synthesis of (+)-dichroanone and (+)-taiwaniaquinone H is reported. The all-carbon quaternary stereocenter was constructed by asymmetric conjugate addition catalyzed by a palladium(II) (S)-tert-butylpyridinooxazoline complex. The unexpected formation of a [3.2.1] bicyclic intermediate required the identification of a new route. Analysis of the Hammett constants for para-substituted arenes enabled the rational design of a highly enantioselective conjugate addition substrate that led to the completion of the formal synthesis

Palladium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Conjugate Addition of Arylboronic Acids to α,β-Unsaturated Cyclic Electrophiles

This account describes our laboratory’s efforts in the development of a palladium-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to cyclic conjugate acceptors. Specifically, we highlight the study of this transformation in the following areas: (a) construction of all-carbon quaternary stereocenters, (b) elucidation of the reaction mechanism, (c) addition to heterocyclic acceptors to generate tertiary stereocenters, and (d) application in the synthesis of natural products

Mechanistic analysis of an asymmetric palladium-catalyzed conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to β-substituted cyclic enones.

An asymmetric palladium-catalyzed conjugate addition reaction of arylboronic acids to enone substrates was investigated mechanistically. Desorption electrospray ionization coupled to mass spectrometry was used to identify intermediates of the catalytic cycle and delineate differences in substrate reactivity. Our findings provide evidence for the catalytic cycle proceeding through formation of an arylpalladium(II) cation, subsequent formation of an arylpalladium-enone complex, and, ultimately, formation of the new C-C bond. Reaction monitoring in both positive and negative ion modes revealed that 4-iodophenylboronic acid formed a relatively stable trimeric species under the reaction conditions

Preparation of (S)-tert-ButylPyOx and Palladium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Conjugate Addition of Arylboronic Acids

A. (S)-N-(1-Hydroxy-3,3-dimethylbutan-2-yl)picolinamide (2). A 1 L one-necked round-bottomed flask equipped with a 3.0 cm x 1.4 cm, egg-shaped, Teflon-coated magnetic stirring bar is sealed with a septum and connected via needle adapter to a two-tap Schlenk adapter attached to an oil bubbler and a nitrogen/vacuum manifold (Note 1). The flask is dried with a heat gun under vacuum and cooled under a stream of nitrogen. The flask is charged with 2-picolinic acid (1) (6.15 g, 50.0 mmol, 1.00 equiv) (Note 2), evacuated and back-filled with nitrogen three times, then charged with dichloromethane (300 mL, 0.17 M) (Note 3) and N-methylmorpholine (7.59 g, 8.25 mL, 75.0 mmol, 1.50 equiv). The flask is cooled in an ice/water bath and iso-butylchloroformate (6.86 mL, 7.17 g, 52.5 mmol, 1.05 equiv) is added dropwise over 30 min by syringe pump. The reaction mixture is stirred for an additional 30 min while remaining submerged in the ice/water bath. A separate 100 mL one-necked round-bottomed flask is sealed with a septum and connected via needle adapter to the two-tap Schlenk adapter and manifold, dried with a heat gun under vacuum, and allowed to cool under a stream of nitrogen. This flask is charged with (S)-tert-leucinol (6.45 g, 55.0 mmol, 1.10 equiv), dichloromethane (40 mL), and N-methylmorpholine (6.07 mL, 5.56 g, 55.0 mmol, 1.10 equiv). The resulting clear solution is taken up in a syringe and transferred dropwise using a syringe pump over the course of 1 h to the stirring reaction mixture in the ice/water bath. The cooling bath is removed, and the pale gold colored reaction mixture is stirred for an additional 6 h at 23 °C. Upon consumption of starting material (Note 4), the mixture is quenched at ambient temperature with a single addition of an aqueous solution of saturated NH_4Cl (50 mL), diluted with additional H_2O (25 mL), and transferred into a 1 L separatory funnel. The phases are separated, and the aqueous phase is extracted with CH_2Cl_2 (3 x 100 mL). The combined organic phases are washed with an aqueous solution of saturated NaHCO_3 (1 x 50 mL) and brine (1 x 50 mL). The combined organic phases are dried over Na_2SO_4 (10 g, 15 min while agitating), filtered through a M pore glass frit, and concentrated by rotary evaporation (28 °C, 15 mmHg). Excess N-methylmorpholine is further removed by placing the crude residue under high vacuum (< 12 mmHg, 12 h) to provide a pale red solid (Note 5). The crude residue is dissolved in 10 mL of acetone and purified via silica gel flash chromatography (Note 6). The combined product-containing fractions are concentrated by rotary evaporation (40 °C, 15 mmHg) to yield a solid, which is dried under high vacuum (< 12 mmHg, 12 h) to afford (S)-N-(1-hydroxy-3,3-dimethylbutan-2-yl)picolinamide (2) as a white amorphous solid (9.88-9.95 g, 44.4-44.8 mmol, 89-90% yield) (Note 7)

A scalable synthesis of the (S)-4-(tert-butyl)-2-(pyridin-2-yl)-4,5-dihydrooxazole ((S)-t-BuPyOx) ligand

An efficient method for the synthesis of the (S)-4-(tert-butyl)-2-(pyridin-2-yl)-4,5-dihydrooxazole ((S)-t-BuPyOx) ligand has been developed. Inconsistent yields and tedious purification in known routes to (S)-t-BuPyOx suggested the need for an efficient, dependable, and scalable synthetic route. Furthermore, a route suitable for the synthesis of PyOx derivatives is desirable. Herein, we describe the development of a three-step route from inexpensive and commercially available picolinic acid. This short procedure is amenable to multi-gram scale synthesis and provides the target ligand in 64% overall yield

Synthesis of Diverse β-Quaternary Ketones via Palladium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Conjugate Addition of Arylboronic Acids to Cyclic Enones

The development and optimization of a palladium-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to cyclic enone conjugate acceptors is described. These reactions employ air-stable and readily-available reagents in an operationally simple and robust transformation that yields β-quaternary ketones in high yields and enantioselectivities. Notably, the reaction itself is highly tolerant of atmospheric oxygen and moisture and therefore does not require the use of dry or deoxygenated solvents, specially purified reagents, or an inert atmosphere. The ring size and β-substituent of the enone are highly variable, and a wide variety of β-quaternary ketones can be synthesized. More recently, the use of NH_4PF_6 has further expanded the substrate scope to include heteroatom-containing arylboronic acids and β-acyl enone substrates

Palladium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Conjugate Addition of Arylboronic Acids to Heterocyclic Acceptors

Flava Flavanone: Asymmetric conjugate additions to chromones and 4-quinolones are reported utilizing a single catalyst system formed in situ from Pd(OCOCF_3)_2 and (S)-tBuPyOX. Notably, these reactions are performed in wet solvent under ambient atmosphere, and employ readily available arylboronic acids as the nucleophile, thus providing ready access to these asymmetric heterocycles