Palladium/TY-Phos-Catalyzed Asymmetric Heck/Tsuji-Trost Reaction of o-Bromophenols with 1,3-Dienes.

2,3-Dihydrobenzofurans are crucial building blocks in the synthesis of natural products and pharmaceutical molecules. However, their asymmetric synthesis has been a long-standing formidable challenge so far. In this work, we developed a highly enantioselective Pd/TY-Phos-catalyzed Heck/Tsuji-Trost reaction of o-bromophenols with various 1,3-dienes, allowing expedient access to chiral substituted 2,3-dihydrobenzofurans. This reaction features excellent regio- and enantiocontrol, high functional group tolerance, and easy scalability. More importantly, the demonstration of this method as a highly valuable tool for the construction of optically pure natural products (R)-tremetone and fomannoxin is highlighted.

Design and Synthesis of TY-Phos and Application in Palladium-Catalyzed Enantioselective Fluoroarylation of gem-Difluoroalkenes.

The first example of highly enantioselective fluoroarylation of gem-difluoroalkenes with aryl halides is presented by using a new chiral sulfinamide phosphine (Sadphos) type ligand TY-Phos. N-Me-TY-Phos can be easily synthesized on a gram scale from readily available starting materials in three steps. Salient features of this work including readily available starting materials, good yields, high enantioselectivities as well as broad substrate scope make this approach very practical and attractive. Notably, the asymmetric synthesis of an analogue of a biologically active molecule is also reported.

Phosphine-Catalyzed Enantioselective Dearomative [3+2]-Cycloaddition of 3-Nitroindoles and 2-Nitrobenzofurans.

Over the past years, the metal-catalyzed dearomative cycloaddition of 3-nitroindoles and 2-nitrobenzofurans have emerged as a powerful protocol to construct chiral fused heterocyclic rings. However, organocatalytic dearomative reaction of these two classes of heteroarenes has become a long-standing challenging task. Herein, we report the first example of phosphine-catalyzed asymmetric dearomative [3+2]-cycloadditio of 3-nitroindoles and 2-nitrobenzofurans, which provide a new, facile, and efficient protocol for the synthesis of chiral 2,3-fused cyclopentannulated indolines and dihydrobenzofurans by reacting with allenoates and MBH carbonates, respectively through a dearomative [3+2]-cycloaddition.

Phosphine-Catalyzed Difunctionalization of ß-Fluoroalkyl α,ß-Enones: A Direct Approach to ß-Amino α-Diazo Carbonyl Compounds.

An efficient and practical phosphine-catalyzed vicinal difunctionalization of ß-fluoroalkyl α,ß-enones with TMSN3 has been developed. Using dppb as the catalyst, the reaction worked efficiently to yield various ß-amino α-diazocarbonyl compounds in high yields (up to 94 %). This work marks the first efficient construction of α-diazocarbonyl compounds by phosphine catalysis. Meanwhile, the asymmetric variant induced by the nucleophilic bifunctional phosphine P4 led to various chiral fluoroalkylated ß-amino α-diazocarbonyl compounds in high yields and enantioselectivity. NMR and ESI-MS studies support the existence of the key reaction intermediates. In contrast, ß-azide carbonyl compounds would be furnished in good yields from ß-fluoroalkylated ß,ß-disubstituted enones.

Divergent functionalization of α,ß-enones: catalyst-free access to ß-azido ketones and ß-amino α-diazo ketones.

A simple and practical method for the azidation of ß-fluoroalkyl α,ß-unsaturated ketones to access a wide variety of fluorinated nitrogenous carbonyl compounds is developed. Different from existing precedents, neither a metallic nor an organic catalyst was involved in our strategy. Judicious choice of solvents allows for the modulation of the reaction outcomes, delivering ß-azido ketones or ß-amino α-diazo ketones. The reaction system features environmental friendliness, mild conditions, simplicity and excellent functional group tolerance.

Palladium/Xu-Phos-catalyzed asymmetric carboamination towards isoxazolidines and pyrrolidines.

An efficient palladium-catalyzed enantioselective carboamination reaction of N-Boc-O-homoallyl-hydroxylamines and N-Boc-pent-4-enylamines with aryl or alkenyl bromides was developed, delivering various substituted isoxazolidines and pyrrolidines in good yields with up to 97% ee. The reaction features mild conditions, general substrate scope and scalability. The obtained products can be transformed into chiral 1,3-aminoalcohol derivatives without erosion of chirality. The newly identified Xu-Phos ligand bearing an ortho-OiPr group is responsible for the good yield and high enantioselectivity.

Catalytic Enantiodivergent Michael Addition by Subtle Adjustment of Achiral Amino Moiety of Dipeptide Phosphines.

Over the past decades, asymmetric catalysis has been intensely investigated as a powerful tool for the preparation of numerous chiral biologically active compounds. However, developing general and practical strategies for preparation of both enantiomers of a chiral molecule via asymmetric catalysis is still a challenge, particularly when the two enantiomers of a chiral catalyst are not easily prepared from natural chiral sources. Inspired by the biologic system, we report herein an unprecedented catalytic enantiodivergent Michael addition of pyridazinones to enones by subtle adjustment of achiral amino moiety of dipeptide phosphine catalysts. These two dipeptide phosphine catalysts, P5 and P8, could deliver both enantiomers of a series of N2-alkylpyridazinones in good yields (up to 99%) with high enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) via the catalyst-controlled enantiodivergent addition of pyridazinones to enones.

Pd/Xiang-Phos-catalyzed enantioselective intermolecular carboheterofunctionalization under mild conditions.

A mild and practical Pd/Xiang-Phos-catalyzed enantioselective intermolecular carboheterofunctionalization reaction of 2,3-dihydrofurans is developed, leading to various optically active fused furoindolines and tetrahydrofurobenzofurans. The key to this transformation is employing two newly modified N-Me-Xiang-Phos ligands ((S, R S)- N-Me-X4/X5) as chiral ligands under mild conditions. Moreover, this synthetic methodology can be efficiently applied to a variety of complex polysubstituted heterocycles with high chemo-, regio-, and enantio-selectivities via introducing diverse substituents on furan rings, which were hard to access by other routes.