Imines, enantioselective hydrogenation

L = P(CH3)3 or CO, oxidatively add arene and alkane carbon—hydrogen bonds (181,182). Catalytic dehydrogenation of alkanes (183) and carbonylation of bensene (184) has also been observed. Iridium compounds have also been shown to catalyse hydrogenation (185) and isomerisation of unsaturated alkanes (186), hydrogen-transfer reactions, and enantioselective hydrogenation of ketones (187) and imines (188). 

Reaction of the enatiopure aldehyde 2-800, obtained from the corresponding imine by enantioselective hydrogenation, with Meldrum s acid (2-801) and the enol ether 2-802a (E/Z= 1 1) in the presence of a catalytic amount of ethylene diammonium diacetate for 4h gave 2-805 in 90 % yield with a 1,3 induction of >24 1. As intermediates, the Knoevenagel product 2-803 and the primarily produced cycloadduct 2-804 can be supposed the latter loses C02 and acetone by reaction with water formed during the condensation step (Scheme 2.178). 

Enantiopure phosphinodihydrooxazoles were used in the Ir-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of imines in CH2C12. Leitner reported that it is possible to replace the organic solvents with scC02 without loss of enantioselectivity, if these Ir catalysts are suitably tailored to the specific properties of the reaction medium by careful choice of the substituents on the chiral ligands and in the anion 365... 

Iridium(III) hydride forms complexes with DIOP, BDPP (2,4-bis(diphenyl-phosphino)pentane), NORPHOS, and BINAP ligands to produce amines in 11 -80% ee.679 Similar modest results are obtained in the reduction of N-arylketimines with an iridium(HI) complex with (2S,3 S) -C HIRA PHOS as the chiral ligand.680 The indium complexes with chiral phosphinodihydrooxazoles catalyze the enantioselective hydrogenation of imines in supercritical carbon dioxide with up to 80% ee, but generally lower ee values are observed in... 

Tietze adopted a somewhat more indirect route to enantiopure tetrahydro-p-carbolines 166. This approach begins with P-S reaction of tryptamine with aldehydes or a-keto acids to yield the carbolines 163, which upon oxidation to the corresponding imines 164 subsequently undergo enantioselective hydrogenation with the catalyst 165 in a 5 2 formic acid/triethylamine mixture in acetonitrile <00EJO2247>. 

Table 6.5 Enantioselective hydrogenation of cyclic imines catalyzed by [(R,R,R)-(EBTHI)TiX2],...

Early transition-metal complexes have been some of the first well-defined catalyst precursors used in the homogeneous hydrogenation of alkenes. Of the various systems developed, the biscyclopentadienyl Group IV metal complexes are probably the most effective, especially those based on Ti. The most recent development in this field has shown that enantiomerically pure ansa zirconene and titanocene derivatives are highly effective enantioselective hydrogenation catalysts for alkenes, imines, and enamines (up to 99% ee in all cases), whilst in some cases TON of up to 1000 have been achieved. 

Another interesting application of high-pressure tubes is the in-situ investigation of reactions in supercritical solvents such as carbon dioxide. For example, the iridium-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of imines was investigated in a sapphire tube at 313 K [32]. 

The R,S-family 33, and of course its enantiomer, provide high enantioselectiv-ities and activities for the reductions of itaconic and dehydroamino acid derivatives as well as imines [141], The JosiPhos ligands have found industrial applications for reductions of the carbon-carbon unsaturation within a,/ -unsaturated carbonyl substrates [125, 127, 131, 143-149]. In contrast, the R,R-diastereoisomerof30 does not provide high stereoselection in enantioselective hydrogenations [125, 141]. 

In this chapter, we review the growing family of phospholane-based chiral ligands, and specifically examine their applications in the field of enantioselective hydrogenation. In general, this ligand class has found its broadest applicability in the reduction of prochiral olefins and, to a significantly lesser extent, ketones and imines this is reflected in the composition of the chapter. Several analogous phosphacycle systems have also been included, where appropriate. 

Burk et al. showed the enantioselective hydrogenation of a broad range of N-acylhydrazones 146 to occur readily with [Et-DuPhos Rh(COD)]OTf [14]. The reaction was found to be extremely chemoselective, with little or no reduction of alkenes, alkynes, ketones, aldehydes, esters, nitriles, imines, carbon-halogen, or nitro groups occurring. Excellent enantioselectivities were achieved (88-97% ee) at reasonable rates (TOF up to 500 h ) under very mild conditions (4 bar H2, 20°C). The products from these reactions could be easily converted into chiral amines or a-amino acids by cleavage of the N-N bond with samarium diiodide. 

Secondary phosphine oxides are known to be excellent ligands in palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions and platinum-catalyzed nitrile hydrolysis. A series of chiral enantiopure secondary phosphine oxides 49 and 50 has been prepared and studied in the iridium-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of imines [48] and in the rhodium- and iridium-catalyzed hydrogenation functionalized olefins [86]. Especially in benzyl substituted imine-hydrogenation, 49a ranks among the best ligands available in terms of ex. 

Scheme 28.17 Enantioselective hydrogenation of benzyl imines using iridium/secondary phosphinoxide ligands.

Table 34.2 Selected results for the enantioselective hydrogenation of N-aryl imines 1 and 2 (for structures, see Fig. 34.4) Catalytic system, reaction conditions, enantioselectivity, productivity and activity.

The TEAF system can be used to reduce ketones, certain alkenes and imines. With regard to the latter substrate, during our studies it was realized that 5 2 TEAF in some solvents was sufficiently acidic to protonate the imine (p K, ca. 6 in water). Iminium salts are much more reactive than imines due to inductive effects (cf. the Stacker reaction), and it was thus considered likely that an iminium salt was being reduced to an ammonium salt [54]. This explains why imines are not reduced in the IPA system which is neutral, and not acidic. When an iminium salt was pre-prepared by mixing equal amounts of an imine and acid, and used in the IPA system, the iminium was reduced, albeit with lower rate and moderate enantioselectivity. Quaternary iminium salts were also reduced to tertiary amines. Nevertheless, as other kinetic studies have indicated a pre-equilibrium with imine, it is possible that the proton formally sits on the catalyst and the iminium is formed during the catalytic cycle. It is, of course, possible that the mechanism of imine transfer hydrogenation is different to that of ketone reduction, and a metal-coordinated imine may be involved [55]. 

Salzer et al. prepared a set of planar-chiral diphosphine ligands based on the arene chromium tricarbonyl backbone (Fig. 36.3) [21]. The straightforward four-step synthetic route allowed the preparation of 20 ligands of this family. These ligands were tested in Ru- and Rh-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of various substrates, including the standard C=C substrates (dimethyl itaconate, methyl-2-acetamidocinnamate, methyl-2-acetamidoacrylate) as well as MEA-imine (l-(methoxymethyl)ethylidene-methylethylaniline) and ethyl pyruvate. Moderate conversions and ee-values were obtained. 

James et al. reported a case of product inhibition in the Rh-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of N-phenyl benzaldehyde imine [37]. These authors were able to isolate the deactivated catalyst, and to obtain its X-ray structure, which showed, surprisingly, that it was a rhodium complex with the product bound through a rf-n-axene interaction (Scheme 44.5). More cases of inhibition via formation of metal arene complexes will be detailed in Section 44.5. 

Several successful results have been obtained in the asymmetric hydrogenation and asymmetric hydrosilylation of imines.101 An efficient enantioselective hydrogenation of the ON double bond was developed by Burk and Feast-er,101a who used [ R h (CO D) (D u P h o s) ] C Fi SO3 in the hydrogenation of N-aroylhydrazone 98. 

Pfaltz and Leitner found that some imines are hydrogenated enantioselectively at a partial H2 pressure of 30 atm and 40 °C in scC02 (d = 0.75 g mL 1) containing a chiral phosphinodihydrooxazole-Ir complex to give optically active amines in up to 81 %... 

S. Kainz, A. Brinkmann, W. Leitner, A. Pfaltz, Iridium-Catalyzed Enantioselective Hydrogenation of Imines in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide , J. Am Chem Soc 1999, 121, 6421-6429. 

Another striking example of this principle came from the former Ciba-Geigy central research services.1141 During investigation into the discovery of a feasible protocol for the enantioselective hydrogenation of MEA-imine 20, variation of the steric and electronic influences of each phosphine unit in the... 

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