Chiral metal complexes alkylation

Recently, the importance of the structure of chiral metal complexes on the handedness of the mesophases induced in a nematic LC was exemplified [114]. The chiral metal complexes 10 and 11—in which the alkyl substituents are aligned almost perpendicularly to the C2 axis in the former and parallel in the latter—show very different induction phenomena. Not only are the induced helicities in the nematic LC of opposite sense for the two compounds, but the helical twisting power of 10 is much higher than that of 11. The reason for these differences is the way in which the molecules are incorporated into the host nematic phase and exert their force upon it to create the twist between the layers. 

The asymmetric reaction of nitromethane with aldehydes as well as activated ketones (e.g., trifluoroacetophenone and a-ketoesters) is possible with various chiral metallic complexes or organocatalysts under atmospheric pressure with good yield and enantioselectivity. However, the Henry reaction of aryl alkyl ketones still remains problematic and challenging. Matsumoto s group also tested the very difficult reaction of acetophenone and nitromethane with quinidine. No product was observed under Ibar and only traces at 7 kbar, but application of 10 kbar resulted in a significant improvement in yield (31%) -unfortunately, no enantioselectivity was detected (Scheme 21.3). 

The use of chiral transition-metal complexes as catalysts for stereoselective C-C bond forming reactions has developed into a topic of fimdamental importance. The allyhc alkylation is one of the best known of this type of reaction. It allows the Pd-catalyzed substitution of a suitable leaving group in the allylic position by a soft nucleophile. 

The first class of amine-based nucleophilic catalysts to give acceptable levels of selectivity in the KR of aryl alkyl. yec-alcohols was a series of planar chiral pyrrole derivatives 13 and 14, initially disclosed by Fu in 1996 [25, 26]. Fu and co-workers had set out to develop a class of robust and tuneable catalysts that could be used for the acylative KR of various classes of. yec-alcohols. Planar-chiral azaferrocenes 13 and 14 seemed to meet their criteria. These catalysts feature of a reasonably nucleophilic nitrogen and constitute 18-electron metal complexes which are highly stable [54-58]. Moreover, by modifying the substitution pattern on the heteroaromatic ring, the steric demand and hence potentially the selectivity of these catalysts could be modulated. 

Enantioselective transition metal-catalyzed allyhc alkylation has stimulated immense interest due to its potential synthetic utihty [1 b]. Although excellent enantioselectivities have been obtained for a wide variety of cychc and acyclic aUyhc alcohol derivatives, using a wide range of chiral transition metal complexes, the ability to also control regioselectivity has proven challenging. In hght of the excellent selectivities observed for rhodium-catalyzed allyhc substitution, it would seem reasonable to assume that the enantioselective rhodium-catalyzed version may provide the definitive solution to this problem. 

Alkylation of Enolates of Chiral Transition Acyl-Metal Complexes... 

I.I.I.3.4.2. Alkylation of Other Acyl-Metal Complexes Chiral Cobait-Acyl Complexes... 

Related Alkylations of Chiral a-Alkoxy Vinyl-Metal Complexes Chiral a-Alkoxy Vinyl-Iron Complexes... 

The chiral ligand (44) was prepared starting from the cyclic a-amino acid (S)-proline80). Recently, similar chiral catalysts and related molybdenum complexes involving optically active N-alkyl-P-aminoalcohols as stable chiral ligands and acetylacetone as a replaceable bidentate ligand, were designed for the epoxidation of allylic alcohols with alkyl hydroperoxides which could be catalyzed by such metal complexes 8,). 

A chiral metal center, as is found in a pseudotetrahedral iron complex with cyclopentudienyl. carbonyl, triphenylphosphine, and ethyl ligands, hus also beer used to address the question of alkyl migration versus carbonyl insertion. Inversion of... 

Though alkylation of metal cyanides is one of the oldest routes to metal-isocyanide complexes, at the present time the usefulness of this method is confined to (i) partially characterizing new metal-cyanide complexes, (ii) providing access to complexes containing unstable or unusual isocyanide ligands which cannot be prepared by direct interactions of complex with isocyanide, and (iii) providing a route to chiral metal-isocyanide complexes. The following examples exemplify this. 

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