Asymmetric Synthesis of 1,1,1-Triarylethanes by Chiral Imidodiphosphoric Acid Catalyzed Nucleophilic Addition of Pyrrole and Indoles to 3-Vinylindoles.

Chiral imidodiphosphoric acids were employed as efficient catalysts in the enantioselective addition reaction of pyrrole and indoles to 3-vinylindoles. A series of optically active 1,1,1-triarylethmanes bearing quaternary stereocenters were synthesized in excellent yields (up to 99% yield) and enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee). Gram-scale reactions of 1i and 2a as well as 1o and 5a demonstrated the synthetic utility of this methodology. Control experiments showed that the formation of a double H-bond between the catalyst and substrates is necessary for an excellent outcome.

Asymmetric syntheses of spiro[benzofuro-cyclopenta[1,2-b]indole-indoline] scaffolds via consecutive cyclization.

An efficient method to construct enantioenriched spiro[benzofuro-cyclopenta[1,2-b]indole-indoline] scaffolds via consecutive cyclization is described here. The new scaffolds possess five successive chiral stereogenic centers and two spiroheterocycles. A range of highly enantioenriched scaffolds has been obtained with up to 93% yield, 99% ee and >19 : 1 d.r. catalyzed by Brønsted acid catalysts.

Enantioselective Domino Reaction of 3-Vinylindole and p-Quinone Methides Enabled by Chiral Imidodiphosphoric Acids: Asymmetric Synthesis of Multisubstituted 3-Indolyl Cyclopenta[b]indoles.

The development of a stereoselective method for the rapid assembly of structurally complex molecules remains fascinating and challenging in synthetic organic chemistry. Here, we report an enantioselective domino reaction between 3-vinylindole and p-quinone methide for the preparation of 3-indolyl cyclopenta[b]indoles containing multiple chiral centers. Chiral imidodiphosphoric acids enable this cascade asymmetric process, delivering a series of products with excellent yields (≤99%), enantioselectivities (≤99%), and diastereoselectivities (≤20:1 dr).

Chiral Imidodiphosphoric Acid-Catalyzed Highly Diastereo- and Enantioselective Synthesis of Poly-Substituted 3,4-Dihydro-2H-pyrans: [4 + 2] Cycloadditions of ß,γ-Unsaturated α-Ketoesters and 3-Vinylindoles.

Imidodiphosphoric acids were employed to catalyze inverse-electron-demand hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of ß,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters and 3-vinylindoles. A series of optically active 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran derivatives with three contiguous stereogenic centers was synthesized in excellent yields (70-99%), diastereoselectivities (>20:1), and enantioselectivities (73-99%). The resulting indole containing 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran could be converted to tetrahydropyran derivatives, which appear in several biological active compounds by simple hydrogenation reduction.