Cyclopropanes enantioselective

Enantioselective Cyclopropanation. Enantioselective versions of both copper and rhodium cyclopropanation catalysts are available. The copper-imine class of catalysts is enantioselective when chiral imines are used. Some of the chiral ligands that have been utilized in conjunction with copper salts are shown in Scheme 10.10. 

The use of chiral additives with a rhodium complex also leads to cyclopropanes enantioselectively. An important chiral rhodium species is Rh2(5-DOSP)4, which leads to cyclopropanes with excellent enantioselectivity in carbene cyclopro-panation reactions. Asymmetric, intramolecular cyclopropanation reactions have been reported. The copper catalyzed diazoester cyclopropanation was reported in an ionic liquid. ° It is noted that the reaction of a diazoester with a chiral dirhodium catalyst leads to p-lactones with modest enantioselectivity Phosphonate esters have been incorporated into the diazo compound... 

Enantioselection can be controlled much more effectively with the appropriate chiral copper, rhodium, and cobalt catalyst.The first major breakthrough in this area was achieved by copper complexes with chiral salicylaldimine ligands that were obtained from salicylaldehyde and amino alcohols derived from a-amino acids (Aratani catalysts ). With bulky diazo esters, both the diastereoselectivity (transicis ratio) and the enantioselectivity can be increased. These facts have been used, inter alia, for the diastereo- and enantioselective synthesis of chrysan-themic and permethrinic acids which are components of pyrethroid insecticides (Table 10). 0-Trimethylsilyl enols can also be cyclopropanated enantioselectively with alkyl diazoacetates in the presence of Aratani catalysts. In detailed studies,the influence of various parameters, such as metal ligands in the catalyst, catalyst concentration, solvent, and alkene structure, on the enantioselectivity has been recorded. Enantiomeric excesses of up to 88% were obtained with catalyst 7 (R = Bz = 2-MeOCgH4). 

Cyclopropanation enantioselectivity was found by Wynne et al. (28,29) to be high and pressure independent in SCCO2 but lower and pressure dependent in scCHFa [Eq. (27)] ... 

Wynne D, Jessop PG. Cyclopropanation enantioselectivity is pressure dependent in supercritical fluoroform. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 1999 38 1143-1144. 

CYCLOPENTENE-1-CARBOXYLIC ACID (7686-77-3), 75, 195 3-Cyclopentene-1,1-dicarboxylic acid (88326-51-6), 75, 195 Cyclopropanations, enantioselective, 76, 97... 

Drudis-Sole G et al (2008) DFT/MM study on copper-catalyzed cyclopropanation -enantioselectivity with no enthalpy barrier. Eur J Org Chem 5614—5621... 

Carbenoid complexes with heterocyclic ligands as catalysts in enantioselective cyclopropanation of olefins 97S137. 

Enantioselective [2+1] Cycloaddition Cyclopropanation with Zinc Carbenoids... 

Catalytic, enantioselective cyclopropanation enjoys the unique distinction of being the first example of asymmetric catalysis with a transition metal complex. The landmark 1966 report by Nozaki et al. [1] of decomposition of ethyl diazoacetate 3 with a chiral copper (II) salicylamine complex 1 (Scheme 3.1) in the presence of styrene gave birth to a field of endeavor which still today represents one of the major enterprises in chemistry. In view of the enormous growth in the field of asymmetric catalysis over the past four decades, it is somewhat ironic that significant advances in cyclopropanation have only emerged in the past ten years. 

These early studies on zinc carbenoids provide an excellent foundation for the development of an asymmetric process. The subsequent appearance of chiral auxiliary and reagent-based methods for the selective formation of cyclopropanes was an outgrowth of a clear understanding of the achiral process. However, the next important stage in the development of catalytic enantioselective cyclopropanations was elucidation of the structure of the Simmons-Smith reagent. 

For a reaction as complex as catalytic enantioselective cyclopropanation with zinc carbenoids, there are many experimental variables that influence the rate, yield and selectivity of the process. From an empirical point of view, it is important to identify the optimal combination of variables that affords the best results. From a mechanistic point of view, a great deal of valuable information can be gleaned from the response of a complex reaction system to changes in, inter alia, stoichiometry, addition order, solvent, temperature etc. Each of these features provides some insight into how the reagents and substrates interact with the catalyst or even what is the true nature of the catalytic species. 

O Connor, S.P. Catalytic, Enantioselective Cyclopropanation of Allylic Alcohols PhD Thesis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1993. 

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