Catalytic Chiral lanthanide Lewis acid

To achieve catalytic enantioselective aza Diels-Alder reactions, choice of metal is very important. It has been shown that lanthanide triflates are excellent catalysts for achiral aza Diels-Alder reactions [5]. Although stoichiometric amounts of Lewis acids are often required, a small amount of the triflate effectively catalyzes the reactions. On the basis of these findings chiral lanthanides were used in catalytic asymmetric aza Diels-Alder reactions. The chiral lanthanide Lewis acids were first developed to realize highly enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions of 2-oxazolidin-l-one with dienes [6]. 

Catalytic asymmetric aza-Diels-Alder reactions using a chiral lanthanide Lewis acid. Enantioselective synthesis of tetrahydroquinoline derivatives using a catalytic amount of a chiral source [98]... 

Thus, we have developed catalytic asymmetric aza Diels-Alder reactions of imines with alkenes using a chiral lanthanide Lewis acid, to afford 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives in high yields with high diastereo- and enan-tioselectivities. The characteristic points of this reaction are as follows, (i) Asymmetric aza Diels-Alder reactions between achiral azadienes and dienophiles have been achieved using a catalytic amount of a chiral source, (ii) The unique reaction pathway, in which the chiral Lewis acid activates not dienophiles but dienes, is revealed. In most asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions reported using chiral Lewis acids, the Lewis acids activate dienophiles [64, 65]. However, inverse electron-demand asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions of 2-pyrone derivatives have been reported [72]. (iii) A unique lanthanide complex including an azadiene and an additive, which is quite different from the conventional chiral Lewis acids, has been developed. 

Kobayashi and coworkers exploited the use of lanthanide Lewis acid catalysts in various achiral reactions as described in the previous section, and they also successfully extended some of them into asymmetric variants. A series of their works commenced with catalytic asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions [50, 51]. The reaction was performed with a chiral ytterbium catalyst prepared from Yb(OTf)3, (R)-l,l -bi-2-naphthol (BINOL), and tertiary amine. The amine significantly influenced enantioselectivity of the reaction, and cis-l,2,6-trimethylpiperidine combined with 4 A molecular sieves (MS 4 A) aflhrded the best results (endo/exo = 89/11, endo = 95% ee, Yb catalyst A) (Scheme 13.20). Later, Nakagawa and coworkers improved reactivity and selectivity of the Yb catalyst by modification of chiral ligand. Use of l,l -(2,2 -bisacylamino)binaphthalene (Yb catalyst B) gave product in >98%ee [52]. 

Perhaps the most attractive method of introducing enantioselectivity into the Diels-Alder reaction is to use a chiral catalyst in the form of a Lewis acidic metal complex. In recent years, this area has shown the greatest progress, with the introduction of many excellent catalytic processes. Quite a number of ligand-metal combinations have been evaluated for their potential as chiral catalysts in Diels-Alder reactions. The most commonly used metals are boron, titanium, and aluminum. Copper, magnesium, and lanthanides have also been used in asymmetric catalytic Diels-Alder reactions. 

Although asymmetric versions of aza Diels-Alder reactions using chiral auxiliaries have been reported, only one example uses a stoichiometric amount of a chiral Lewis acid [44]. The first reported example of a catalytic enantioselective aza Diels-Alder reaction employed a chiral lanthanide catalyst [45]. A chiral ytterbium or scandium catalyst, prepared from Yb(OTf)3 or Sc(OTf)3, (i )-BINOL, and DBU, is effective in the enantioselective aza Diels-Alder reactions. The reaction of A-alkylidene- or N-arylidene-2-hydroxyaniline with cyclopentadiene proceeded in the presence of the chiral catalyst and 2,6-di-rerf-butyl-4-methylpyridine (DTBMP) to afford the corresponding 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives in good to high yields with good to excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivity (Eq. 15). 

Mukaiyama aldol reactions are useful means of constructing complex molecules for the total synthesis of natural products. Although catalytic asymmetric Mukaiyama aldol reactions have been achieved by use of a variety of chiral Lewis acids [42], no report of the use of chiral lanthanide catalysts was available until recently, despite the potency of these catalysts. Shibasaki and co-workers reported the first examples of chiral induction with chiral lanthanide complexes (Sch. 7) [43]. Catalysts prepared from lanthanide triflates and a chiral sulfonamide ligand afforded the corresponding aldol products in moderate enantiomeric excess (up to 49% ee). 

Although the development of a variety of Lewis acids has enabled the reahzation of a wide range of catalytic asymmetric reactions, most of the catalysts have limited activity in terms of either enantioselectivity or chemical yields. The major difference between synthetic asymmetric catalysts and enzymes is that the former activates only one side of the substrate in an intermolecular reaction, whereas the latter not only can activate both sides of the substrate but also can control the orientation of the substrate. If this kind of synergistic cooperation could be realized in synthetic asymmetric catalysis, it would open up a new field in asymmetric synthesis, and a wide range of applications might well ensure. In this section we discuss asymmetric two-center catalysis promoted by chiral lanthanide complexes with Lewis acidity and Brpnsted basicity [44,45]. 

In catalytic processes with enzymes such as D-oxynitrilase and (R) xynitrilase (mandelonitrilase) or synthetic peptides such as cyclo[(5)-phenylalanyl-(5)-histidyl], or in reaction with TMS-CN pro-mot by chiral titanium(IV) reagents or with lanthanide trichlorides, hydrogen cyanide adds to numerous aldehydes to form optically active cyanohydrins. The optically active Lewis acids (8) can also be used as a catalyst. Cyanation of chiral cyclic acetals with TMS-CN in the presence of titanium(IV) chloride gives cyanohydrin ethers, which on hydrolysis lead to optically active cyanohydrins. An optically active cyanohyrMn can also be prepared from racemic RR C(OH)CN by complexation with bru-... 

Inanaga and coworkers prepared a series of tris[(l )-(-)-l,l -binaphthyl-2,2 -diylphosphato]lanthanides(III) Lnff-lBNPjj as new chiral and stable Lewis acids by the simple treatment of lanthanide(III) chlorides with three equivalent of the optically active sodiirm phosphate at room temperature, and reported the observed catalytic activity [31,32].The asymmetric hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of the Danishefsky diene 5 with benzaldehyde or with 2-naphthaldehyde were successfully performed at 0 °C in the presence of 10 mol % of Sc[(-)BNP]3 to give the corresponding adducts in 77 and 69% chemical yields with 68 and 74% enantiomeric excesses of (l )-(-)-isomers, respectively (Scheme 14). 

Lanthanide triflates are stable Lewis acids in water and are successfully used in several carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions in aqueous solutions. The reactions proceed smoothly in the presence of a catalytic amount of the triflate under mild conditions. Moreover, the catalysts can be recovered after the reactions are completed and can be re-used. Lewis acid catalysis in micellar systems will lead to clean and environmentally friendly processes, and it will become a more important topic in the future. Finally, catalytic asymmetric aldol reactions in aqueous media have been attained using Ln(OTf)3-chiral crown ether complex as a catalyst. 

Furthermore, lead(II) and lanthanide(III) complexes were synthesized, which work well as chiral Lewis acids in aqueous media. Until then chiral crown ether-based Lewis acids had not been successfully used in catalytic asymmetric reactions. The asymmetric aldol reactions, however, proceed smoothly at — 10 to 0°C in water-alcohol solutions, while high levels of diastereo- and enantioselectivity are retained. In most previously established catalytic asymmetric aldol reactions the use of aprotic anhydrous solvents and reaction temperatures of — 78 °C were... 

Recent efforts in this area are focused mainly on the improvement of the catalytic asymmetric version of the aldol reaction A wide variety of chiral Lewis acid catalysts derived from Ti, Sn,t lanthanides,and... 

In 1995, Shibasaki s group disclosed the first example of multifunctional heterobimetallic complex-catalyzed Michael reaction of malonate to enone. The chiral catalyst, lanthanum-sodium-BINOL complex (/ )-LSB, was prepared from La(Of-Pr)3, (/ )-BINOL, and NaOt-Bu. Two different metals indeed play their unique roles to enhance the reactivity of both substrate partners by locating them in designated positions. The Lewis acidic metal (lanthanides or group 13 elements) has been found capable to activate the acceptor, whereas the second metal center (alkali metals bound to a Brpnsted base) assists the coordination of enolate. The proposed catalytic cycle is shown in Scheme 9.5. 

Mukaiyama aldol reactions, whereby trimethylsilyl enol ethers react with aldehydes in aqueous solution to form -ketoalcohols, have been promoted by new chiral lanthanide-containing complexes and a chiral Fe(II)-bipyridine complex with 0 outstanding diastereo- and enantio-selectivities. Factors controlling the diastereoselec-tivity of Lewis-acid-catalysed Mukaiyama reactions have been studied using DFT to reveal the transition-state influences of substituents on the enol carbon, the a-carbon of the silyl ether, and the aldehyde. The relative steric effects of the Lewis acid and 0 trimethyl silyl groups and the influence of E/Z isomerism on the aldol transition state were explored. Catalytic asymmetric Mukaiyama aldol reaction of difluoroenoxysilanes with /-unsaturated a-ketoesters has been reported for the first time and studied extensively. ... 

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