Remarkably diastereoselective synthesis of a chiral biphenyl diphosphine ligand and its application in asymmetric hydrogenation

Essentially complete atropdiastereoselectivity was realized in the preparation of biaryl diphosphine dioxide by asymmetric intramolecular Ullmann coupling and oxidative coupling with central-to-axial chirality transfer. A bridged C(2)-symmetric biphenyl phosphine ligand possessing additional chiral centers on the linking unit of the biphenyl groups was synthesized. No resolution step was required for the preparation of the enantiomerically pure chiral ligand. These findings offer a general and practical tool for the development of previously uninvestigated atropdiastereomeric biaryl phosphine ligands. The diphosphine ligand was found to be highly effective in the asymmetric hydrogenation of α- and β-ketoesters, 2-(6′-methoxy-2′-naphthyl)propenoic acid, β-(acylamino)acrylates, and enol acetates

Pd-Catalyzed O-Arylation of Ethyl Acetohydroximate: Synthesis of O-Arylhydroxylamines and Substituted Benzofurans

An efficient Pd catalyst for the O-arylation of ethyl acetohydroximate with aryl chlorides, bromides, and iodides has been developed. Ethyl acetohydroximate serves as an efficient hydroxylamine equivalent for C−O cross-coupling, thereby allowing for the preparation of O-arylhydroxylamines from simple aryl halides. Short reaction times and broad substrate scope, including heteroaryl coupling partners, allow access to O-arylhydroxylamines that would be difficult to prepare in a single step by traditional methods. Moreover, the O-arylated products so formed can be directly transformed into substituted benzofurans in a single operation.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant Number GM-58160)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) Postdoctoral Fellowship (1F32GM088931