Cai You

Enantioselective and Diastereoselective Construction of Chiral Amino Alcohols by Iridium–f-Amphox-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation via Dynamic Kinetic Resolution

The iridium-f-amphox-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of racemic α-amino β-unfunctionalized ketones proceeds via a DKR (dynamic kinetic resolution) process for the construction of various chiral N,N-disubstituted α-amino β-unfunctionalized alcohols in quantitative yields with excellent enantioselectivities and diastereoselectivities (all products >99% ee and >99:1 dr, TON up to 100 000). Importantly, this catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation with a DKR process provided a highly efficient and powerful synthetic strategy for the preparation of key chiral intermediates of the preclinical antitumor agent (S,S)-R116010.

Rhodium-Catalyzed Desymmetrization by Hydroformylation of Cyclopentenes: Synthesis of Chiral Carbocyclic Nucleosides

Excellent enantioselectivities (up to 97 % ee) and diastereoselectivities (up to >99:1 d.r.) have been achieved in the desymmetrization of cyclopentenes by catalytic hydroformylation. This novel methodology provides an efficient and concise synthetic route to chiral cyclopentane carboxaldehydes. The key intermediate, (1S,3S)-(3-hydroxymethyl)cyclopentanol, for the synthesis of carbocyclic-ddA was obtained in three steps.

Nickel-Catalyzed Enantioselective Hydrogenation of β-(Acylamino)acrylates: Synthesis of Chiral β-Amino Acid Derivatives

The nickel-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of β-(acylamino)acrylates has been developed, affording chiral β-amino acid derivatives with excellent yields (95-99% yield) and enantioselectivities (97-99% ee). With the Ni-Binapine system, high enantioselectivities (98-99% ee) have also been obtained in the hydrogenation of Z/E isomeric mixtures of β-alkyl and β-aryl β-(acylamino)acrylates. The synthesis of chiral β-amino acid derivatives on a gram scale has also been achieved with 0.2 mol % catalyst loading.

Design and Application of Hybrid Phosphorus Ligands for Enantioselective Rh-Catalyzed Anti-Markovnikov Hydroformylation of Unfunctionalized 1,1-Disubstituted Alkenes

A series of novel hybrid phosphorus ligands were designed and applied to the Rh-catalyzed enantioselective anti-Markovnikov hydroformylation of unfunctionalized 1,1-disubstituted alkenes. By employing the new catalyst, linear aldehydes with β-chirality can be prepared with high yields and enantioselectivities under mild conditions. Furthermore, catalyst loading as low as 0.05 mol % furnished the desired product in good yield and undiminished selectivity, demonstrating the efficiency of this transformation in large-scale synthesis.

Silicon-oriented regio- and enantioselective rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation

Hydroformylation of 1,2-disubstituted alkenes usually occurs at the α position of the directing heteroatom such as oxygen atom and nitrogen atom. By contrast, to achieve hydroformylation on the β position of the heteroatom is a tough task. Herein, we report the asymmetric rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1,2-disubstituted alkenylsilanes with excellent regioselectivity at the β position (relative to the silicon heteroatom) and enantioselectivity. In a synthetic sense, we achieve the asymmetric hydroformylation on the β position of the oxygen atom indirectly by using the silicon group as a surrogate for the hydroxyl. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are carried out to examine energetics of the whole reaction path for Rh/YanPhos-catalyzed asymmetric hydroformylation and understand its regioselectivity and enantioselectivity. Our computational study suggests that the silicon group can activate the substrate and is critical for the regioselectivity.Hydroformylation of 1,2-disubstituted alkenes usually occurs at the α position of the directing heteroatom. Here, the authors report the asymmetric rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1,2-disubstituted alkenylsilanes with excellent regioselectivity at the β position (relative to the silicon heteroatom) and enantioselectivity.

Efficient synthesis of (S,R)-Bn-Yanphos and Rh/(S,R)-Bn-Yanphos catalyzed asymmetric hydroformylation of vinyl heteroarenes

A concise and efficient synthesis of (S,R)-Bn-Yanphos on a gram scale has been developed. When (S,R)-Bn-Yanphos was employed in Rh-catalyzed asymmetric hydroformylation of vinyl heteroarenes and allyl-1H-indole, it exhibited excellent catalytic activity, affording chiral heteroaryl aldehydes in good yields with high regio- and enantioselectivities (up to 96% ee).