Imine ligands diethylzinc additions

To date, the most frequently used ligand for combinatorial approaches to catalyst development have been imine-type ligands. From a synthetic point of view this is logical, since imines are readily accessible from the reaction of aldehydes with primary or secondary amines. Since there are large numbers of aldehydes and amines that are commercially available the synthesis of a variety of imine ligands with different electronic and steric properties is easily achieved. Additionally, catalysts based on imine ligands are useful in a number of different catalytic processes. Libraries of imine ligands have been used in catalysts of the Strecker reaction, the aza-Diels-Alder reaction, diethylzinc addition, epoxidation, carbene insertions, and alkene polymerizations. 

Several new ligands containing the oxazoline nucleus were synthesized in enantiopure form. Compounds of general structure 165 were obtained from L-serine or L-threonine and found application as catalysts for the zinc addition to aldehydes <03TA3292> or were derived from P-amino alcohols and used in diethylzinc addition to A -(diphenylphosphinoyl) imines <03JOC4322>. Also, compound 166 was derived from a commercially available amino acid and afforded good selectivity in allylic alkylation <03TL6469>. 

High enantioselectivity has been achieved on addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde catalysed by a chiral diamine, (5)-2-(A/,A/-disubstituted aminomethyl)pyrrolidine," and by chiral helical titanate complexes of tetradentate ligands." Enantioselective additions of dialkylzinc reagents to A/-(diphenylphosphinoyl)imines, promoted by aziridino alcohols," and to the carbon-nitrogen double bond of the nitrone 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline A/-oxide, promoted by dicyclopentyl(i ,i )-tartrate," have also been reported. 

Dahmen and Erase demonstrated the first highly enantioselective diethylzinc addition to imines in the absence of other metal catalysts such as Ti, Zr, and Cu complexes (Scheme 4.46) [40]. A simple method that uses only a catalytic amount of chiral N,0-ligand (132) based on [2,2] paracyclophane without an additional central metal is notable. Although they used a specific N-protected a-(p-Ts)benzylamine (130) as the highly reactive N-protected imine precursor (133) via an in situ preparation, the reaction was catalyzed by only 2 mol% of (132) for various functionalized aromatic imines. While the corresponding Et adducts (131) were obtained in almost quantitative yields and excellent enantiomeric excesses, 3 equiv of diethylzinc was used. 

Tanner et al. also used an aziridine carbinol (viz. 54) as chiral ligand in asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to hT-(diphenylphosphinoyl)imines (Scheme 41) [54]. 

A number of groups have reported the preparation and in situ application of several types of dendrimers with chiral auxiliaries at their periphery in asymmetric catalysis. These chiral dendrimer ligands can be subdivided into three different classes based on the specific position of the chiral auxiliary in the dendrimer structure. The chiral positions may be located at, (1) the periphery, (2) the dendritic core (in the case of a dendron), or (3) throughout the structure. An example of the first class was reported by Meijer et al. [22] who prepared different generations of polypropylene imine) dendrimers which were substituted at the periphery of the dendrimer with chiral aminoalcohols. These surface functionalities act as chiral ligand sites from which chiral alkylzinc aminoalcoholate catalysts can be generated in situ at the dendrimer periphery. These dendrimer systems were tested as catalyst precursors in the catalytic 1,2-addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde (see e.g. 13, Scheme 14). 

A highly enantioselective synthesis of a-dehydroamino acids (186) with a stereogenic centre at the y -position has been developed, which employs a copper-catalysed asymmetric conjugate addition of diethylzinc to a,j3-unsaturated imines (185) with the TADDOL-derived phosphoramidite (187) as a chiral ligand.234... 

Their 3,3 -substituents are utilized not only for their steric bulk, but also for the coordination to metals. Yamamoto and coworkers employed a boron complex of 3,3 -bis(2-hydroxyphenyl) BINOL in the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene and acrylaldehyde (equation 70) . The ligand possesses two additional hydroxy groups and forms a helical structure on coordination. The catalyst is considered to function as a chiral Brpnsted acid and a Lewis acid. The complex was also used in the Diels-Alder reactions and aldol reactions of imines. Although addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes gives low ee using BINOL itself or its 3,3 -diphenyl derivative, the selectivity can be increased when coordinating groups are introduced at the 3,3 -positions. Katsuki and... 

As part of an ongoing research program directed toward the use of chiral aziridines in asymmetric synthesis [36], Andersson, Tanner and co-workers have recently reported the detailed results of their own findings in the field of catalytic asymmetric dialkylzinc alkylation of imines [37dj. Tanner et al. had previously communicated their success in the catalytic asymmetric addition of organolith-ium reagents to imines with C2-symmetric bis(aziridines) [37a, 37b]. This was followed by a preliminary report on the use of aziridino alcohols as well as simple aziridines for the addition of diethylzinc to M-diphenylphosphinoylimines [37c]. The most recent report is an extension of this study, and includes the detailed preparation of the ligands [37d]. 

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