Asymmetric Henry Reaction of 2-Acylpyridine N-Oxides Catalyzed by a Ni-Aminophenol Sulfonamide Complex: An Unexpected Mononuclear Catalyst.

The asymmetric Henry reaction of 2-acylpyridine N-oxide remains a challenge as N-oxides generally act as competitive catalyst inhibitors or displace activating ligands. A novel variable yield (up to 99%) asymmetric Henry reaction of 2-acypyridine N-oxides catalyzed by a Ni-aminophenol sulfonamide complex with good to excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99%) has been developed. Mechanistic studies suggest that the unique properties of the electron-pairs of N-oxides for complexation with Ni makes the unexpected mononuclear complex, rather than the previously reported dinuclear complex, the active species.

A novel homobimetallic nickel complex for the asymmetric direct Mannich reaction of imines: a practical method on a multi-gram scale.

A novel dinuclear Ni complex has been developed for the direct Mannich reaction of malonates with N-tosyl aryl imines with a low catalyst loading (0.1-0.05 mol%) on a preparative scale (5-50 mmol). The structure of the active species was verified via control experiments, ESI-HRMS, and DFT calculations.