Aryl imines

Evans et al. reported that the bis(imine)-copper (II) complex 25, prepared from chiral bis(imine) ligand and Cu(OTf)2, is also an effective chiral Lewis acid catalyst [34] (Scheme 1.44, Table 1.18). By tuning the aryl imine moiety, the bis(2,6-dichlor-ophenylimine) derivative was found to be suitable. Although the endojexo selectivity for 3-alkenoyloxazolidinones is low, significant improvement is achieved with the thiazolidine-2-thione analogs, for which both dienophile reactivity and endojexo selectivity are enhanced. 

Schemes Sm-promoted reductive coupling of chiral C-aryl imines...

Bolm et al. [108] prepared a C2-symmetric bis (sulfoximine) as ligand for the copper-catalyzed hetero-Diels-Alder reaction. The stereogenic sulfur atom being located near the AT-coordinating atom, these structures were assumed to be promising for asymmetric catalysis. Their Hgand (79 in Scheme 43) was synthesized by palladium-catalyzed N-aryl imination from 1,2-dibromobenzene and (S)-S-methyl-S-phenylsulfoximine with Pd2dba3 in 70% yield. 

The proline-catalyzed reaction has been extend to the reaction of propanal, butanal, and pentanal with a number of aromatic aldehydes and proceeds with high syn selectivity.197 The reaction can also be carried out under conditions in which the imine is formed in situ. Under these conditions, the conjugative stabilization of the aryl imines leads to the preference for the aryl imine to act as the electrophile. A good yield of the expected P-aminoalcohol was obtained with propanal serving as both the nucleophilic and the electrophilic component. The product was isolated as a 7-amino alcohol after reduction with NaBH4. 

Reaction of trimethyl aconitate 414 with 3equiv of aryl imines 415 furnished the tricycles 416 in low yields (Equation 111) <2001AGE4212>. 

Yu and co-workers also used CAN to catalyze an aza-Diels-Alder reaction <06TL3545>. Aryl imines were reacted with /V-vinyl pyrrol idin-2-one or IV-methyl-lV-vinyl-acetamide in the presence of 10 mol% CAN resulting in the desired 2,4-cw-tetrahydroquinolines in good yields. 

Acid- and base-promoted methods have also been used in the syntheses of pyrazoles. Hydrogenation of methyl 2-Cbz(hydrazine)-3-hydroxy-4,4-dimethoxybutanoate 11 followed by cyclization in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid afforded the first asymmetric synthesis of the (4S,5.R)-5-carbomethoxy-4-hydroxy-A2-pyrazoline 12 <00TL8795>. Reaction of 2-nitrobenzyl triphenylphosphonium ylide (13) with aiyl isocyanates afforded 2-aryl-2H-indazoles 14 <00TL9893>. Base-promoted reaction of nitrobenzenes 15 with aryl imines 16 afforded aryl pyrazoles 17 . 

At the same time, however, the iridium-catalyzed hydrogenation of 80 was reported using chiral phosphoric acid diester 17be based on BINOL [47a]. Full conversion and a maximum e.e. of 50% was observed, again in a slow reaction. Interestingly, a catalyst based on palladium and 17be afforded 39% e.e. and full conversion in the hydrogenation of aryl imine 87. 

The nature of the substituent directly attached to the N-atom influences the properties (basicity, reduction potential, etc.) of the C = N function more than the substituents at the carbon atom. For example, it was found that Ir-dipho-sphine catalysts that are very active for N-aryl imines are deactivated rapidly when applied for aliphatic imines [7], or that titanocene-based catalysts are active only for N-alkyl imines but not for N-aryl imines [8, 20, 21]. Oximes and other C = N-X compounds show even more pronounced differences in reactivity. 

Table 34.2 Selected results for the enantioselective hydrogenation of N-aryl imines 1 and 2 (for structures, see Fig. 34.4) Catalytic system, reaction conditions, enantioselectivity, productivity and activity.

Ru-diphosphine-diamine complexes developed originally by Noyori for the hydrogenation of aryl ketones are also suitable for the hydrogenation of imines. The best results are obtained for N-aryl imines where a Ru-duphos-diamine complex achieved up to 94% ee, albeit with relatively low activity and productivity (entry 3.7) (for data relating to cyclic imines, see Table 34.5). 

Ir-PN catalysts which are quite effective for N-aryl imines also show some promise for N-alkyl derivatives. Of special interest were the high TOF claimed for the Ir-L4 system, but unfortunately the ee is very low (entry 4.5). Several other Ir-PN were described with moderate to good ee-values, but again the TON and TOF were modest, as shown (Table 34.4 entry 4.6 (see also [49]). 

Fig. 34.14 Schematic catalytic cycle postulated for the Ir diphosphine-catalyzed hydrogenation of N-aryl imines. For clarity, the halide ligands are not shown.

F. Spindler, B. Pugin, H.-P. Jalett, H.-P. Buser, U. Pittelkow, H.-U Blaser, A Technically Useful Catalyst for the Homogeneous Enantioselective Hydrogenation of N-Aryl Imines A Case Study, in Catalysis of Organic Reactions (Ed. R. E. Maltz), Dekker, New York, 1996, pp. 153-168. 

Binol-derived phosphoroamidite PipPhos (19) has been successfully used as a ligand for the Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of 2- and 2,6-substituted quinolines [39], 2- and 2,6-substituted quinoxalines [40], and IV-aryl imines [41] (Fig. 16). 

Fig. 16 Summary of the best results obtained in the Ir-catalyzed hydrogenation of quinolines, quinoxalines, and Af-aryl imines using binol-derived phosphoroamidite PipPhos 19 ligand...

Andersson reported the use of ligand 13a in the asymmetric hydrogenation of substituted acetophenone-based 77-aryl imines (Table 18) [88, 89]. New ligands 84 and 85 were reported by the groups of Bolm and Knochel, respectively, for... 

Ab initio calculations on aza-Diels-Alder reactions of electron-deficient imines with buta-l,3-diene show that these reactions are HOMO (diene)-LUMO(dienophile)-controlled and that electron-deficient imines should be more reactive than alkyl-or aryl-imines. The Diels-Alder reaction of r-butyl 2//-azirine-3-carboxylate (80) proceeds with high diastereoselectivity with electron-rich dienes (81) (Scheme 28). The hetero-Diels-Alder additions of imines with sterically demanding dienes yield perhydroquinolines bearing an angular methyl group. The asymmetric hetero-Diels-Alder reaction between alkenyloxazolines and isocyanates produces diastereometri-cally pure oxazolo[3,2-c]pyrimidines. °... 

IrCl2H(cod)]2 catalyzed the synthesis of substituted quinolines, where the reachon of aniline derivahves, aromatic and alkyl aldehydes efficiently proceeds under an oxygen atmosphere (Scheme 11.34) [46]. The plausible mechanism consists of a Mannich reaction, a Friedel-Craft-type aromahc substituhon, dehydration, and dehydrogenation. This can be recognized as a formal [4+2] cycloaddition of N-aryl imine and enol (Scheme 11.35). 

As mentioned above, iridium complexes are also active in the formation of amines via the hydrosilylation/protodesUylation of imines. In the presence of 2 equiv. of HSiEts, the cationic complex [lr bis(pyrazol-l-yl)methane (CO)2][BPh4] (C4) catalyzes the reduction of various imines, including N-alkyl and N-aryl imines and both aldimines and ketimmes. Excellent conversions directly to the amine products were achieved rapidly at room temperature in a methanol solution (Scheme 14.7) [53]. 

---