Chiral lanthanide, Lewis Acid catalyst

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]. 

In the previous section, lanthanide triflates were shown to be excellent catalysts for achiral aza Diels-Alder reactions. While stoichiometric amounts of Lewis acids are required in many cases, a small amount of the triflate effectively catalyzes the reactions. On the other hand, chiral lanthanide Lewis acids have been developed to realize highly enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions of 2-ox-azolidin-l-one with dienes [89]. The reaction of N-benzylideneaniline with cyclop entadiene was first performed under the influence of 20 mol% of a chiral ytterbium Lewis acid prepared from ytterbium triflate (Yb(OTf)3), fR)-(+)-l,l -bi-naphthol (BINOL), and trimethylpiperidine (TMP). The reaction proceeded smoothly at room temperature to afford the desired tetrahydroquinoline derivative in a 53% yield, although no chiral induction was observed. At this stage, it was indicated that bidentate coordination between a substrate and a chiral Lewis acid would be necessary for reasonable chiral induction. N-Benzylidene-2-hydroxy aniline (31a) was then prepared, and the reaction with cyclopentadiene (32a) was examined. It was found that the reaction proceeded smoothly to afford the corresponding 8-hydroxyquinoline derivative (33a) [90] in a high yield. The enantiomeric excess of the cis adduct in the first trial was only 6% however, the selectivity increased when diazabicyclo-[5,4,0]-undec-7-ene (DBU) was used in-... 

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]. 

Asymmetric aza Diels-Alder reactions synthesis of tetrahydroquinoline derivatives using a chiral lanthanide Lewis acid as catalyst... 

Quite a number of asymmetric thiol conjugate addition reactions are known [84], but previous examples of enantioselective thiol conjugate additions were based on the activation of thiol nucleophiles by use of chiral base catalysts such as amino alcohols [85], the lithium thiolate complex of amino bisether [86], and a lanthanide tris(binaphthoxide) [87]. No examples have been reported for the enantioselective thiol conjugate additions through the activation of acceptors by the aid of chiral Lewis acid catalysts. We therefore focussed on the potential of J ,J -DBFOX/ Ph aqua complex catalysts as highly tolerant chiral Lewis acid catalyst in thiol conjugate addition reactions. 

Many Lewis-acid catalysts have been studied and used in the Diels-Alder reactions, ranging from the more commonly used strong Lewis acids such as AICI3, TiCU, SnCU, ZnCli, ZnBri, etc., to the milder lanthanide complexes and to the chiral catalyst. 

Scheme 2.25 shows some examples of additions of enolate equivalents. A range of Lewis acid catalysts has been used in addition to TiCl4 and SnCl4. Entry 1 shows uses of a lanthanide catalyst. Entry 2 employs LiC104 as the catalyst. The reaction in Entry 3 includes a chiral auxiliary that controls the stereoselectivity the chiral auxiliary is released by a cyclization using (V-methylhydroxylamine. Entries 4 and 5 use the triphenylmethyl cation as a catalyst and Entries 6 and 7 use trimethylsilyl triflate and an enantioselective catalyst, respectively. 

Several chiral lanthanide(III) Lewis acid catalysts, derived from chiral binaphthols, have been used in the cycloaddition reactions of cyclopentadiene with substituted iV-acryloyl-1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones. A catalyst derived from ytterbium triflate, (R)-binaphthol... 

Scheme 12) [20a]. Shibasaki et al. [20b] used a chiral in situ generated lanthanide complex (64) as catalyst. The optically active lanthanide complex 66 is postulated as the basic intermediate, activating the nitromethane as shown in 67. However, in the case of the Mukaiyama aldol addition, lanthanide Lewis acids still give moderate ee values. 

Although Lewis add-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions are now of great interest in organic synthesis, these reactions must be conducted under strictly anhydrous conditions, because most Lewis adds react immediately with water rather than the substrates, and are decomposed or deactivated. Sc(OTf)3, however, was found to be stable in water, and effectively activated carbonyl and related compounds as a Lewis add in water. Although it had already been found that lanthanide triflates (Ln(OTf)3 Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu) and yttrium triflate (Y(OTf)3) are stable in water and can act as Lewis acid catalysts in aqueous media [3], Sc(OTf)3 occasionally has even better properties even than Ln(OTf)3. Sc(OTf)3, moreover, worked well as a Lewis acid catalyst in several organic solvents, and chiral scandium triflates have also been developed. 

Diels-Alder reactions constitute one of the most important methodologies for the constructuction of a cyclic molecular framework. Lanthanide Lewis acid catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction was pioneered by Danishefsky et al., who revealed that NMR shift reagent Eu(hfc)3 served as chiral catalyst in hetero Diels-Alder reaction of silyloxydiene and aldehydes [32]. Later, although Yb(OTf)3 was first introduced for Diels-Alder reactions as an effective catalyst among lanthanide triflates, scandium triflates (Sc(OTf)3), classified as rare earth metal triflate, has gained popularity as a superior catalyst for Diels-Alder reactions [11, 33]. This section highlights several examples of the reactions where lanthanide triflates displayed preferable performance over scandium triflates. 

The inorganic lanthanide triflate complexes Ln(OTf)3 (made in aqueous solution) have been shown by Kobayashi to be efficient Lewis-acid catalysts for hydroxy-methylation (using commercial aqueous formaldehyde solutions) of silicon enolates in aqueous medium (water -i- THF) or even in water alone in the presence of a surfactant. In these reactions, activation proceeds by coordination of the aldehyde oxygen atom by the Ln center that is a strong Lewis acid due to its hard character. Among the lanthanide triflates, ytterbium triflate was found to be the most active catalyst, but scandium triflate can sometimes also be efficiently used. Enantio-selective versions are also known in the presence of chiral macrocyclic ligands. The water-soluble catalyst is recovered in water after extraction of the organic products. 

The use of lanthanide complexes in asymmetric catalysis was pioneered by Danishefsky s group with the hetero-Diels-Alder reaction,and their utility as chiral Lewis acid catalysts was shown by Kobayashi. The Brpnsted base character of lanthanide-alkoxides has been used by Shibasaki for aldol reactions, cyanosilylation of aldehydes and nitroaldol reactions.The combination of Lewis acid and Brpnsted base properties of lanthanide complexes has been exploited in particular by Shibasaki for bifunctional asymmetric catalysis. These bimetallic lanthanide-main-group BINOL complexes are synthesized according to the following routes ... 

We started our research efforts to develop a new type of Lewis acid that could be used in aqueous media. The chemistry of metal trifluoromethanesul-fonates (triflates) [2], some of which have been used as Lewis acids, has been studied in our laboratories [3]. One of the most successful examples is the use of chiral diamine-coordinated tin(ll) triflate as a chiral Lewis-acid catalyst in asymmetric aldol and related reactions [3c-e]. Metal triflates have several unique properties compared with the corresponding metal halides, and, in the course of our investigations to search for other metal triflates, we first focused on lanthanide triflates [4]. 

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... 

The most frequently encountered, and most useful, cycloaddition reactions of silyl enol ethers are Diels-Alder reactions involving silyloxybutadicncs (Chapter 18). Danishefsky (30) has reviewed his pioneering work in this area, and has extended his studies to include heterodienophiles, particularly aldehydes. Lewis acid catalysis is required in such cases, and substantial asymmetric induction can be achieved using either a chiral lanthanide catalyst or an a-chiral aldehyde. 

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). 

Mikami and co-workers reported a hetero Diels-Alder reaetion of butyl glyoxylate using a chiral lanthanide eatalyst reported by Shibasaki s group in 1994 (Sch. 4) [37]. They found that addition of water (11 mol equiv. to catalyst) resulted in the formation of the product in higher yield and ee. Such tolerance of water is never encountered in conventional Lewis acid catalysis. The catalyst (10 mol %) promoted the reaction of Danishefsky s diene with butyl glyoxylate in the presence of water to afford the corresponding product in up to 88% yield and 66% ee. 

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-... 

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