Chiral compounds Lewis acids

Chiral boron Lewis-acid complexes have been successfully used in Diels-Alder and aldol reactions. Representative chiral Lewis-acidic boron compounds are shown in Figure 2.297-301... 

Nevertheless, the use of chirally modified Lewis acids as catalysts for enantioselective aminoalkylation reactions proved to be an extraordinary fertile research area [3b-d, 16]. Meanwhile, numerous publications demonstrate their exceptional potential for the activation and chiral modification of Mannich reagents (generally imino compounds). In this way, not only HCN or its synthetic equivalents but also various other nucleophiles could be ami-noalkylated asymmetrically (e.g., trimethylsilyl enol ethers derived from esters or ketones, alkenes, allyltributylstannane, allyltrimethylsilanes, and ketones). This way efficient routes for the enantioselective synthesis of a variety of valuable synthetic building blocks were created (e.g., a-amino nitriles, a- or //-amino acid derivatives, homoallylic amines or //-amino ketones) [3b-d]. 

The aforementioned aminoalkylations catalyzed by chirally modified Lewis acids employ special imino compounds such as 9 and 12 that can act as bidentate ligands and form... 

The presence of jr-electron-donating substituents at the 2-position of the vinyl portion of the ether allows for significant acceleration of the Claisen rearrangement.314-318 Aliphatic Claisen rearrangements can proceed in the presence of organoaluminum compounds,286-319-320 although other Lewis acids have failed to show reactivity.286,321 324 Useful levels of (Z)-stereoselection and asymmetric induction have been obtained by use of bulky chiral organoaluminum Lewis acids.325 327... 

The earliest report of a reaction mediated by a chiral three coordinate aluminum species describes an asymmetric Meerwein-Poimdorf-Verley reduction of ketones with chiral aluminum alkoxides which resulted in low induction in the alcohol products [1]. Subsequent developments in the area were sparse until over a decade later when chiral aluminum Lewis acids began to be explored in polymerization reactions, with the first report describing the polymerization of benzofuran with catalysts prepared from and ethylaluminum dichloride and a variety of chiral compounds including /5-phenylalanine [2]. Curiously, these reports did not precipitate further studies at the time because the next development in the field did not occur until nearly two decades later when Hashimoto, Komeshima and Koga reported that a catalyst derived from ethylaluminum dichloride and menthol catalyzed the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction shown in Sch. 1 [3,4]. This is especially curious because the discovery that a Diels-Alder reaction could be accelerated by aluminum chloride was known at the time the polymerization work appeared [5], Perhaps it was because of this long delay, that the report of this asymmetric catalytic Diels-Alder reaction was to become the inspiration for the dramatic increase in activity in this field that we have witnessed in the twenty years since its appearance. It is the intent of this review to present the development of the field of asymmetric catalytic synthesis with chiral aluminum Lewis acids that includes those reports that have appeared in the literature up to the end of 1998. This review will not cover polymerization reactions or supported reactions. The latter will appear in a separate chapter in this handbook. 

Usefiil levels of stereoselectivity were obtained in intermolecular addition reactions of C(3)-sub-stituted allylsilanes to chiral aldehydes. Lewis acids that are citable of chelating to heteroatoms have been used to direct the stereochemical course of allylsilane additions to a-alkoxy and a,p-dialkoxy carbonyl compounds. The allylation of a-benzyloxy iddehyde (94) in the presence of TiG4 and SnOt furnished products with high levels of syn stereoselection (syn-9. In contrast, under nonchelation-controlled reaction conditions (BF3-OEt2) allyltrimethylsilane reacted to form predonunantly the anti-1,2-diol product (anti-95), as shown in Scheme 45. 

Recently, some efficient asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions catalyzed by chiral Lewis acids have been reported [67]. The chiral Lewis acids employed in these reactions are generally based on traditional acids such as titanium, boron, or aluminum reagents, and they are well modified to realize high enantioselectivi-ties. Although lanthanide compounds were expected to be Lewis acid reagents, only a few asymmetric reactions catalyzed by chiral lanthanide Lewis acids were reported. Pioneering work by Danishefsky et al. demonstrated that Eu(hfc)3 (an NMR shift reagent) catalyzed hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of aldehydes with si-loxydienes, but enantiomeric excesses were moderate [68]. 

Tietze also reported an increase in the enantioselectivity of a cycloaddition reaction which was carried out in the presence of a chiral Lewis acid under high pressure. The intramolecular hetero Diels-Alder reaction (HIMDA) [68] of the benzyli-dine compound 186 proceeds by a mcte-addition to give two enantiomeric bridged cycloadducts 187 and 188 (Scheme 45). At ambient pressure (dichloromethane, RT, 31 h), in the presence of the chiral titanium Lewis acid catalyst, product 187 was formed preferentially (with 4.5% ee). In addition to die increase in chemical yield obtained at normal pressure (from 50%), enantioselectivity of the cycloaddition at 5 kbar was increased to (20.4% ee), in favor of the (-) enantiomer 188. 

In the study of total synthesis of the CP-molecules by Nicolaou group, the asymmetric intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of prochiral triene compound 44 was conducted under the influence of chiral aluminum Lewis acid catalyst 45, albeit the low level of enantioselectivity (Scheme 34) [58, 59]. 

Enantioselective Michael addition catalyzed by chiral aluminum Lewis acid is one of the most important methods to obtain enantiomerically pure compounds. As an early work in this fleld, in 1986, Shibasaki and coworkers reported catalytic enantioselective Michael addition of malonates to cyclic enones catalyzed by Li-Al bimetallic catalyst (72) (ALB) derived by premixing LiAlH4 and 2 equivalent of (R)-BINOL in THF (Scheme 6.86) [106, 107]. The structure of (R)-ALB was confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis of ALB-cyclohexenone complex. One notable advantage of ALB catalyst is that it works nicely in the tandem Michael-aldol sequence. 

Simple olefins do not usually add well to ketenes except to ketoketenes and halogenated ketenes. Mild Lewis acids as well as bases often increase the rate of the cyclo addition. The cycloaddition of ketenes to acetylenes yields cyclobutenones. The cycloaddition of ketenes to aldehydes and ketones yields oxetanones. The reaction can also be base-cataly2ed if the reactant contains electron-poor carbonyl bonds. Optically active bases lead to chiral lactones (41—43). The dimerization of the ketene itself is the main competing reaction. This process precludes the parent compound ketene from many [2 + 2] cyclo additions. Intramolecular cycloaddition reactions of ketenes are known and have been reviewed (7). 

The most successful of the Lewis acid catalysts are oxazaborolidines prepared from chiral amino alcohols and boranes. These compounds lead to enantioselective reduction of acetophenone by an external reductant, usually diborane. The chiral environment established in the complex leads to facial selectivity. The most widely known example of these reagents is derived from the amino acid proline. Several other examples of this type of reagent have been developed, and these will be discussed more completely in Section 5.2 of part B. 

Catalytic enantioselective hetero-Diels-Alder reactions are covered by the editors of the book. Chapter 4 is devoted to the development of hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of carbonyl compounds and activated carbonyl compounds catalyzed by many different chiral Lewis acids and Chapter 5 deals with the corresponding development of catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reactions. Compared with carbo-Diels-Alder reactions, which have been known for more than a decade, the field of catalytic enantioselective hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of carbonyl compounds and imines (aza-Diels-Alder reactions) are very recent. 

Gothelf presents in Chapter 6 a comprehensive review of metal-catalyzed 1,3-di-polar cycloaddition reactions, with the focus on the properties of different chiral Lewis-acid complexes. The general properties of a chiral aqua complex are presented in the next chapter by Kanamasa, who focuses on 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrones, nitronates, and diazo compounds. The use of this complex as a highly efficient catalyst for carbo-Diels-Alder reactions and conjugate additions is also described. 

Brmsted acid-assisted chiral Lewis acid 8 was also applied to the intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of an a-unsubstituted triene derivative. ( , )-2,7,9-Decatrienal reacts in the presence of 30 mol% of the catalyst to afford the bicyclo compound in high yield and good enantioselectivity [lOd] (Scheme 1.17). 

Activation of Carbonyl Compounds by Chiral Lewis Acids... 

The main strategy for catalytic enantioselective cycloaddition reactions of carbonyl compounds is the use of a chiral Lewis acid catalyst. This approach is probably the most efficient and economic way to effect an enantioselective reaction, because it allows the direct formation of chiral compounds from achiral substrates under mild conditions and requires a sub-stoichiometric amount of chiral material. 

To achieve catalytic enantioselective cycloaddition reactions of carbonyl compounds, coordination of a chiral Lewis acid to the carbonyl functionality is necessary. This coordination activates the substrate and provides the chiral environment that forces the approach of a diene to the substrate from the less sterically hindered face, introducing enantioselectivity into the reaction. 

The catalytic enantioselective cycloaddition reaction of carbonyl compounds with conjugated dienes has been in intensive development in recent years with the main focus on synthetic aspects the number of mechanistic studies has been limited. This chapter will focus on the development and understanding of cycloaddition reactions of carbonyl compounds with chiral Lewis acid catalysts for the preparation of optically active six-membered ring systems. 

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