Asymmetric catalysis Michael reactions

H. Huang, F. Yu, Z. Jin, W. Li, W. Wu, X. Liang, J. Ye, Asymmetric vinylogous Michael reaction of a,p-unsaturated ketones with y-butenolide rmder multifimctional catalysis, Chem. Commrm. 46 (2010) 5957-5959. 

SCHEME 46.32. Asymmetric sulfa-Michael reaction by chiral salt catalysis. 

Annual Volume 71 contains 30 checked and edited experimental procedures that illustrate important new synthetic methods or describe the preparation of particularly useful chemicals. This compilation begins with procedures exemplifying three important methods for preparing enantiomerically pure substances by asymmetric catalysis. The preparation of (R)-(-)-METHYL 3-HYDROXYBUTANOATE details the convenient preparation of a BINAP-ruthenium catalyst that is broadly useful for the asymmetric reduction of p-ketoesters. Catalysis of the carbonyl ene reaction by a chiral Lewis acid, in this case a binapthol-derived titanium catalyst, is illustrated in the preparation of METHYL (2R)-2-HYDROXY-4-PHENYL-4-PENTENOATE. The enantiomerically pure diamines, (1 R,2R)-(+)- AND (1S,2S)-(-)-1,2-DIPHENYL-1,2-ETHYLENEDIAMINE, are useful for a variety of asymmetric transformations hydrogenations, Michael additions, osmylations, epoxidations, allylations, aldol condensations and Diels-Alder reactions. Promotion of the Diels-Alder reaction with a diaminoalane derived from the (S,S)-diamine is demonstrated in the synthesis of (1S,endo)-3-(BICYCLO[2.2.1]HEPT-5-EN-2-YLCARBONYL)-2-OXAZOLIDINONE. 

Abstract In the first part of this mini review a variety of efficient asymmetric catalysis using heterobime-tallic complexes is discussed. Since these complexes function at the same time as both a Lewis acid and a Bronsted base, similar to enzymes, they make possible many catalytic asymmetric reactions such as nitroal-dol, aldol, Michael, Michael-aldol, hydrophosphonyla-tion, hydrophosphination, protonation, epoxide opening, Diels-Alder and epoxi-dation reaction of a, 3-unsaturated ketones. In the second part catalytic asymmetric reactions such as cya-nosilylations of aldehydes... 

Ishikawa and co-workers also reported a class of structurally modified guanidines for promotion of the asymmetric Michael reaction of ierf-butyl-diphenylimino-acetate to ethyl acrylate [124,125]. In addition to a polymer support design (Scheme 69), an optical resolution was developed to achieve chiral 1,2-substituted ethylene-l,2-di-amines, a new chiral framework for guanidine catalysis. The authors discovered that incorporating steric bulk and aryl substituents in the catalyst did improve stereoselec-tivitity, although the reactivity did suffer (Scheme 70, Table 4). 

Monoalkylation of a-isocyano esters by using tert-butyl isocyano acetate (R = fBu) has been reported by Schollkopf [28, 33]. Besides successful examples using primary halides, 2-iodopropane has been reported to produce the a-alkylated product (1) as well by this method (KOfBu in THF). In the years 1987-1991, Ito reported several methods for the monoalkylation of isocyano esters, including the Michael reaction under TBAF catalysis as described earlier [31], Claisen rearrangements [34], and asymmetric Pd-catalyzed allylation [35]. Finally, Zhu recently reported the first example of the introduction of an aromatic substituent by means of a nucleophilic aromatic substitution (Cs0H-H20, MeCN, 0°C) in the synthesis of methyl ot-isocyano p-nitrophenylacetate [36]. 

The utility of C9-epi-DHQ thiourea 122 for the catalysis of asymmetric Michael reactions [149-152] was further demonstrated by the Wang group [282] in 2006. 

Another significant development in oxazoline chemistry is the application of oxazoline-containing ligands for asymmetric catalysis, such as palladium-catalyzed allylic substimtions, Heck reactions, hydrogenations, dialkylzinc additions to aldehydes, and Michael reactions. The discovery of diastereoselective metalation of chiral ferrocenyloxazolines has further expanded the availability of chiral ligands for metal-catalytic reactions. 

Enolase type activity is displayed in the efficient supramolecular catalysis of H/D exchange in malonate and pyruvate bound to macrocyclic polyamines [5.32]. Other processes that have been studied comprise for instance the catalysis of nucleophilic aromatic substitution by macrotricyclic quaternary ammonium receptors of type 21 [5.33], the asymmetric catalysis of Michael additions [5.34], the selective functionalization of doubly bound dicarboxylic acids [5.35] or the activation of reactions on substituted crown ethers by complexed metal ions [5.36]. 

Asymmetric catalysis with chiral ligands [82] is commonly considered to be advantageous instead of using chiral auxiliaries. Catalytic asymmetric Michael reactions are known [83], but not with iron as the catalytically active metal. Only two reports on iron catalyzed catalytic asymmetric Michael reaction with dipeptides [84] or diamino thioethers [85] exist, but the enantioselectivities were disappointing (18% ee and 10% ee, respectively). 

A biphenyl and ct-methylnaphthylamine-derived chiral quaternary ammonium salt 23d, which was shown by Lygo to be effective for the asymmetric alkylation of Schiffs base 20, was also effective in the Michael reaction (Scheme 7.12) [43]. Notably, the enantioselectivity was highly dependent on the reaction conditions and substrates used. The Michael reaction of imine esters such as benzhydryl and benzyl esters with a,p-unsaturated ketones under solid-liquid phase-transfer catalysis conditions afforded the Michael adduct in up to 94% ee and 91% ee, respectively, while the tert-butyl ester showed moderate enantioselectivity (Scheme 7.12). Interestingly, in contrast to earlier reports, acrylate [42] and acrylamides failed to undergo the Michael reaction under these optimized conditions. 

Whilst simple alkylations of enolates and Michael additions have been successfully catalyzed by phase-transfer catalysts, aldol-type processes have proved more problematic. This difficulty is due largely o the reversible nature of the aldol reaction, resulting in the formation of a thermodynamically more stable aldol product rather than the kinetically favored product. However, by trapping the initial aldol product as soon as it is formed, asymmetric aldol-type reactions can be carried out under phase-transfer catalysis. This is the basis of the Darzens condensation (Scheme 8.2), in which the phase-transfer catalyst first induces the deprotonation of an a-halo... 

Taddol has been widely used as a chiral auxiliary or chiral ligand in asymmetric catalysis [17], and in 1997 Belokon first showed that it could also function as an effective solid-liquid phase-transfer catalyst [18]. The initial reaction studied by Belokon was the asymmetric Michael addition of nickel complex 11a to methyl methacrylate to give y-methyl glutamate precursors 12 and 13 (Scheme 8.7). It was found that only the disodium salt of Taddol 14 acted as a catalyst, and both the enantio- and diastereos-electivity were modest [20% ee and 65% diastereomeric excess (de) in favor of 12 when 10 mol % of Taddol was used]. The enantioselectivity could be increased (to 28%) by using a stoichiometric amount of Taddol, but the diastereoselectivity decreased (to 40%) under these conditions due to deprotonation of the remaining acidic proton in products 12 and 13. Nevertheless, diastereomers 12 and 13 could be separated and the ee-value of complex 12 increased to >85% by recrystallization, thus providing enantiomerically enriched (2S, 4i )-y-methyl glutamic add 15. 

As a parallel to the rapid growth of asymmetric catalysis, chiral imida-zolidinon-HX salts 124a-c were used as catalysts for Michael-type alkylations between indoles and a,(3-unsaturated aldehydes with high levels of enan-tioselectivity and reaction efficiency. This chiral catalyst system is the first reported nonchelating catalyst for indole alkylation. It was assumed that the catalyst reacts with the unsaturated aldehydes to yield the chiral and highly reactive imimum intermediate, which influences both the LUMO-lowering... 

The third part of this chapter reviews previously described catalytic asymmetric reactions that can be promoted by chiral lanthanoid complexes. Transformations such as Diels-Alder reactions, Mukaiyama aldol reactions, several types of reductions, Michael addition reactions, hydrosilylations, and hydroaminations proceed under asymmetric catalysis in the presence of chiral lanthanoid complexes. 

Surprisingly, little follow-up work on this idea of small molecule asymmetric catalysis appeared for the next 25 years. In the late 1980s, Agami reported the asymmetric intramolecular aldol reaction of acyclic diketones with (S)-proline as the catalyst. It was not nntil the twenty-first centnry, however, when this notion of organocatalysts became fnlly exploited. List and Barbas ° pioneered enam-ines as catalysts for aldol and Mannich and related reactions. MacMillan has developed a variety of imininm-based catalysts prodncing large asymmetric indnction for Diels-Alder chemistry, Friedel-Crafts alkylations, Mnkaiyama-Michael and cyclopropanation " reactions. 

Another application of the free diamine as a ligand for asymmetric catalysis is the Michael reaction of cyclic p-keto esters with methyl vinyl ketone, which has been accomplished with a nickel(II)- (15,25)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane complex, with ee s up to91%(eq 11). ... 

The Lewis acid-catalyzed conjugate addition of silyl enol ethers to a,y3-unsaturated carbonyl derivatives, the Mukaiyaraa Michael reaction, is known to be a mild, versatile method for carbon-cabon bond formation. Although the development of catalytic asymmetric variants of this process provides access to optically active 1,5-dicarbonyl synthons, few such applications have yet been reported [108], Mukiyama demonstrated asymmetric catalysis with BINOL-Ti oxide prepared from (/-Pr0)2Ti=0 and BINOL and obtained a 1,4-adduct in high % ee (Sch. 43) [109]. The enantioselectiv-ity was highly dependent on the ester substituent of the silyl enol ether employed. Thus the reaction of cyclopentenone with the sterically hindered silyl enol ether derived from 5-diphenylmethyl ethanethioate proceeds highly enantioselectively. Sco-lastico also reported that reactions promoted by TADDOL-derived titanium complexes gave the syn product exclusively, although with only moderate enantioselectiv-ity (Sch. 44) [110]. 

Scheme 6. Bifunctional asymmetric catalysis of Michael reactions.

For recent reviews on the catalytic asymmetric Michael reactions (a) Krause, N. and Hoffmann-Roder, A. Synthesis 2001, 171. (b) Comprehensive Asymmetric Catalysis Jacobsen, E. N., Pfaltz, A. and Yamamoto, H., (Eds.), Springer, Berlin, 1999, Chapter 31. 

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