Imine hydrogenation, asymmetric catalysis

Significant levels of syn diastereoselectivities (5 1 to 16 1) were observed for all substrates, with the exception of an ortho-chloro-substituted aryl imine, which provided only 2 1 syn selectivity. The catalyst was viable for a variety of nitroalkanes, and afforded adducts in uniformly high enantioselectivities (92-95% ee). The sense of enantiofacial selectivity in this reaction is identical to that reported for the thiourea-catalyzed Strecker (see Scheme 6.8) and Mannich (see Tables 6.18 and 6.22) reactions, suggesting a commonality in the mode of substrate activation. The asymmetric catalysis is likely to involve hydrogen bonding between the catalyst and the imine or the nitronate, or even dual activation of both substrates. The specific role of the 4 A MS powder in providing more reproducible results remains unclear, as the use of either 3 A or 5 A MS powder was reported to have a detrimental effect on both enantioselectivities and rates of reaction. 

A spectacular, site-isolation effect in heterogeneous asymmetric catalysis was first reported by Pugin et al. The asymmetric hydrogenation of imine 1 is important for the commercial production of fS -metolachlor, a herbicide presently produced at >10000 tons per year. In this reaction, whereas homogeneous Ir-BPPM (2) catalyst prepared with [Ir(COD)Cl]2 was deactivated after 26% conversion (turnover frequency (TOP) min = 0), the covalently immobilized Ir catalysts, Si-PPM (3)-Ir, were much more active and productive (TOP min = up to 5.1 Scheme 2.1)... 

In recent years an amazing number and variety of chiral ferrocene ligands have been used in asymmetric catalysis. A quite remarkable example of the great utility of chiral ferrocene hgands is the synthesis of a precursor of the herbicide (IX)-metolachlor by an Ir-Xyliphos-catalysed asymmetric imine hydrogenation reaction (Scheme 3.19). 

From a historical perspective, the Monsanto process for the preparation of (l.)-DOPA in 1974 laid the foundation stone for industrial enantioselective catalysis. Since then it has been joined by a number of other asymmetric methods, such as enantioselective Sharpless epoxidation (glycidol (ARCO) and disparlure (Baker)), and cyclopropanation (cilastatin (Merck, Sumitomo) and pyre-throids (Sumitomo)). Nevertheless, besides the enantioselective hydrogenation of an imine for the production of (S)-metolachlor(a herbicide from Syngenta), the Takasago process for the production of (-)-menthol remains since 1984 as the largest worldwide industrial application of homogeneous asymmetric catalysis. [124]... 

Chiral oxazaborolidine catalysts were applied in various enantioselective transformations including reduction of highly functionalized ketones/ oximes or imines/ Diels-Alder reactions/ cycloadditions/ Michael additions, and other reactions. These catalysts are surprisingly small molecules compared to the practically efficient chiral phosphoric acids, cinchona alkaloids, or (thio)ureas hence, their effectiveness in asymmetric catalysis demonstrates that huge substituents or extensive hydrogen bond networks are not absolutely essential for successful as5unmetric organocatalysis. 

An article is exclusively focused on outer sphere catalysts. In outer-sphere hydrogen catalysis, substrates such as ketone, imine, or A-heterocycle remain in the outer sphere. A hydride and a proton are transferred to these substrates by either a concerted or a stepwise path from catalysts such as Bullock s ionic hydrogenation catalysts, bifunctional catalysts in the tradition of Shvo and Noyori, and Stephan s frustrated Lewis pair catalysts. The outer-sphere pathways can use inexpensive metals and even non-metal catalysts, and lead to useful selectivity properties, particularly Noyori s asymmetric catalysis. ... 

The current research areas with ruthenium chemistry include the effective asymmetric hydrogenation of other substrates such as imines and epoxides, the synthesis of more chemoselective and enantioselective catalysts, COz hydrogenation and utilization, new methods for recovering and recycling homogeneous catalysts, new solvent systems, catalysis in two or three phases, and the replace-... 

In Ught of the recent developments in thiourea, diol, and phosphoric-acid-mediated catalysis, far fewer studies have focused on the use of chiral carboxyhc acids as suitable hydrogen bond donors. To this end, Mamoka synthesized binaphthyl-derived dicarboxylic acid 49 which catalyzes the asymmetric Mannich reaction of N-Boc aryl imines and tert-diazoacetate (Scheme 5.65) [120]. The authors postulate that catalytic achvity is enhanced by the presence of an addihonal car-boxyhc acid moiety given that use of 2-napthoic acid as catalyst provided only trace amounts of product... 

Hypothesizing that primary amine catalysts, due to their reduced steric requirements, might be suitable for the activation of ketones, we studied various salts of a-amino acid esters. (For pioneering use of primary amine salts in asymmetric iminium catalysis involving aldehyde substrates, see Ishihara and Nakano 2005 Sakakura et al. 2006 for the use of preformed imines of a, 3-unsaturated aldehydes and amino acid esters in diastereoselective Michael additions, see Hashimot et al. 1977.) We have developed a new class of catalytic salts, in which both the cation and the anion are chiral. In particular, valine ester phosphate salt 35 proved to be an active catalyst for the transfer hydrogenation of a variety of a, 3-unsaturated ketones 36 with commercially available Hantzsch ester 11 to give saturated ketones 37 in excellent enantiose-lectivities (Scheme 28 Martin and List 2006). 

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