Intermolecular Enantioselective Amination Reactions Mediated by Visible Light and a Chiral Iron Porphyrin Complex.

In the presence of 1 mol % of a chiral iron porphyrin catalyst, various 3-arylmethyl-substituted 2-quinolones and 2-pyridones underwent an enantioselective amination reaction (20 examples; 93-99 % ee). The substrates were used as the limiting reagents, and fluorinated aryl azides (1.5 equivalents) served as nitrene precursors. The reaction is triggered by visible light which allows a facile dediazotation at ambient temperature. The selectivity of the reaction is governed by a two-point hydrogen bond interaction between the ligand of the iron catalyst and the substrate. Hydrogen bonding directs the amination to a specific hydrogen atom within the substrate that is displaced by the nitrogen substituent either in a concerted fashion or by a rebound mechanism.

Multifaceted View on the Mechanism of a Photochemical Deracemization Reaction.

Upon irradiation in the presence of a chiral benzophenone catalyst (5 mol %), a racemic mixture of a given chiral imidazolidine-2,4-dione (hydantoin) can be converted almost quantitatively into the same compound with high enantiomeric excess (80-99% ee). The mechanism of this photochemical deracemization reaction was elucidated by a suite of mechanistic experiments. It was corroborated by nuclear magnetic resonance titration that the catalyst binds the two enantiomers by two-point hydrogen bonding. In one of the diastereomeric complexes, the hydrogen atom at the stereogenic carbon atom is ideally positioned for hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) to the photoexcited benzophenone. Detection of the protonated ketyl radical by transient absorption revealed hydrogen abstraction to occur from only one but not from the other hydantoin enantiomer. Quantum chemical calculations allowed us to visualize the HAT within this complex and, more importantly, showed that the back HAT does not occur to the carbon atom of the hydantoin radical but to its oxygen atom. The achiral enol formed in this process could be directly monitored by its characteristic transient absorption signal at λ ≅ 330 nm. Subsequent tautomerization leads to both hydantoin enantiomers, but only one of them returns to the catalytic cycle, thus leading to an enrichment of the other enantiomer. The data are fully consistent with deuterium labeling experiments and deliver a detailed picture of a synthetically useful photochemical deracemization reaction.

Photochemical Deracemization of Chiral Alkenes via Triplet Energy Transfer.

A visible-light-mediated, enantioselective approach to axially chiral alkenes is described. Starting from a racemic mixture, a major alkene enantiomer is formed due to selective triplet energy transfer from a catalytically active chiral sensitizer. A catalyst loading of 2 mol % was sufficient to guarantee consistently high enantioselectivities and yields (16 examples, 51%-quant., 81-96% ee). NMR studies and DFT computations revealed that triplet energy transfer is more rapid within the substrate-catalyst complex of the minor alkene enantiomer. Since this enantiomer is continuously racemized, the major enantiomer is enriched in the photostationary state.

Photochemical Deracemization at sp3-Hybridized Carbon Centers via a Reversible Hydrogen Atom Transfer.

A photochemical deracemization of 5-substituted 3-phenylimidazolidine-2,4-diones (hydantoins) is reported (27 examples, 69%-quant., 80-99% ee). The reaction is catalyzed by a chiral diarylketone which displays a two-point hydrogen bonding site. Mechanistic evidence (DFT calculations, radical clock experiments, H/D labeling) suggests the reaction to occur by selective hydrogen atom transfer (HAT). Upon hydrogen binding, one substrate enantiomer displays the hydrogen atom at the stereogenic center to the photoexcited catalyst allowing for a HAT from the substrate and eventually for its conversion into the product enantiomer. The product enantiomer is not processed by the catalyst and is thus enriched in the photostationary state.

Photochemical Deracemization of Primary Allene Amides by Triplet Energy Transfer: A Combined Synthetic and Theoretical Study.

The photochemical deracemization of 2,4-disubstituted 2,3-butadienamides (allene amides) was investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The reaction was catalyzed by a thioxanthone which is covalently linked to a chiral 1,5,7-trimethyl-3-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-2-one skeleton providing a U-shaped arrangement of the sensitizing unit relative to a potential hydrogen-bonding site. Upon irradiation at λ = 420 nm in the presence of the sensitizer (2.5 mol %), the amides reached at -10 °C a photostationary state in which one enantiomer prevailed. The enantioenriched allene amides (70-93% ee) were isolated in 74% to quantitative yield (19 examples). Based on luminescence data and DFT calculations, energy transfer from the thioxanthone to the allene amides is thermodynamically feasible, and the achiral triplet allene intermediate was structurally characterized. Hydrogen bonding of the amide enantiomers to the sensitizer was monitored by NMR titration. The experimental association constants (Ka) were similar (59.8 vs 25.7 L·mol-1). DFT calculations, however, revealed a significant difference in the binding properties of the two enantiomers. The major product enantiomer exhibits a noncovalent dispersion interaction of its arylmethyl group to the external benzene ring of the thioxanthone, thus moving away the allene from the carbonyl chromophore. The minor enantiomer displays a CH-π interaction of the hydrogen atom at the terminal allene carbon atom to the same benzene ring, thus forcing the allene into close proximity to the chromophore. The binding behavior explains the observed enantioselectivity which, as corroborated by additional calculations, is due to a rapid triplet energy transfer within the substrate-catalyst complex of the minor enantiomer.

Enantioselective oxygenation of exocyclic methylene groups by a manganese porphyrin catalyst with a chiral recognition site.

The natural enzyme cytochrome P450 is widely recognised for its unique ability to catalyse highly selective oxygen insertion reactions into unactivated C-H bonds under mild conditions. Its exceptional potential for organic synthesis served as an inspiration for the presented biomimetic hydroxylation approach. Via a remote hydrogen bonding motif a high enantioselectivity in the manganese-catalysed oxygenation of quinolone analogues (27 examples, 18-64% yield, 80-99% ee) was achieved. The site-selectivity was completely altered in favour of a less reactive but more accessible position.

Site- and Enantioselective C-H Oxygenation Catalyzed by a Chiral Manganese Porphyrin Complex with a Remote Binding Site.

A chiral manganese porphyrin complex with a two-point hydrogen-bonding site was prepared and probed in catalytic C-H oxygenation reactions of 3,4-dihydroquinolones. The desired oxygenation occurred with perfect site selectivity at the C4 methylene group and with high enantioselectivity in favor of the respective 4S-configured secondary alcohols (12 examples, 29-97 % conversion, 19-68 % yield, 87-99 % ee). Mechanistic studies support the hypothesis that the reaction proceeds through a rate- and selectivity-determining attack of the reactive manganese oxo complex at the hydrogen-bound substrate and an oxygen transfer by a rebound mechanism.

Kinetic Studies on the Palladium(II)-Catalyzed Oxidative Cross-Coupling of Thiophenes with Arylboron Compounds and Their Mechanistic Implications.

Reaction orders for the key components in the palladium(II)-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling between phenylboronic acid and ethyl thiophen-3-yl acetate were obtained by the method of initial rates. It turned out that the reaction rate not only depended on the concentration of palladium trifluoroacetate (reaction order: 0.97) and phenylboronic acid (reaction order: 1.26), but also on the concentration of the thiophene (reaction order: 0.55) and silver oxide (reaction order: -1.27). NMR spectroscopy titration studies established the existence of 1:1 complexes between the silver salt and both phenylboronic acid and ethyl thiophen-3-yl acetate. A low inverse kinetic isotope effect (kH /kD =0.93) was determined upon employing the 4-deuterated isotopomer of ethyl thiophen-3-yl acetate and monitoring its reaction to the 4-phenyl-substituted product. A Hammett analysis performed with para-substituted 2-phenylthiophenes gave a negative ρ value for oxidative cross-coupling with phenylboronic acid. Based on the kinetic data and additional evidence, a mechanism is suggested that invokes transfer of the phenyl group from phenylboronic acid to a 1:1 complex of palladium trifluoroacetate and thiophene as the rate-determining step. Proposals for the structure of relevant intermediates are made and discussed.

Enantiotopos-selective C-H oxygenation catalyzed by a supramolecular ruthenium complex.

Spirocyclic oxindoles undergo an enantioselective oxygenation reaction (nine examples; e.r. up to 97:3) upon catalysis by a chiral ruthenium porphyrin complex (1 mol %). The catalyst exhibits a lactam ring, which is responsible for substrate association through hydrogen bonds, and an active ruthenium center, which is in a defined spatial relationship to the oxygenation substrate. DFT calculations illustrate the perfect alignment of the active site with the reactive C-H bond and suggest--in line with the kinetic isotope effect--an oxygen rebound mechanism for the reaction.

Regioselective oxidative coupling reactions of 3-substituted thiophenes with arylboronic acids.

Under optimized conditions, 3-substituted thiophenes (EWG = COOEt, PO(OEt)(2)) undergo a facile and regioselective oxidative coupling reaction at carbon atom C4. The reactions were performed with various aryl boronic acids as nucleophiles in the presence of silver oxide (2.0 equiv), cesium trifluoroacetate (tfa) (1.0 equiv), benzoquinone (BQ) (0.5 equiv), and catalytic amounts of Pd(tfa)(2) (10 mol %) employing trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) as the solvent.