Lanthanoid-potassium-BINOL

Sasai, H., Arae, S., Tahara, Y., and Shibasaki, M., Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of alpha-amino phosphonates using lanthanoid-potassium-BINOL complexes, /. Org. Chem., 60, 6656, 1995. 

I. Catalytic, asymmetric hydrophosphonylation of imines promoted by the lanthanoid-potassium-BINOL catalyst (LnPB)... 

Some of the metal-based catalysts used in the asymmetric hydrophosphonylation of aldehydes (see Section 6.4) can also be applied to the phosphonylation of imines. For instance, Shibasaki s heterobimetallic BINOL complexes work well for the catalytic asymmetric hydrophosphonylation of imines. In this case lanthanum-potassium-BINOL complexes (6.138) have been found to provide the highest enantioselectivities for the hydrophosphonylation of acyclic imines (6.139). The hydrophosphonylation of cyclic imines using heterobimetallic lanthanoid complexes has been reported. Ytterbium and samarium complexes in combination with cyclic phosphites have shown the best results in the cases investigated so far. For example, 3-thiazoline (6.140) is converted into the phosphonate (6.141) with 99% ee using ytterbium complex (6.142) and dimethyl phosphite (6.108). The aluminium(salalen) complex (6.110) developed by Katsuki and coworkers also functions as an effective catalyst for the hydrophosphonylation of both aromatic and aliphatic aldimines providing the resulting a-aminophosphonate with 81-91% ee. ... 

The second part of the chapter deals with several kinds of asymmetric reactions catalyzed by unique heterobimetallic complexes. These reagents are lanthanoid-alkali metal hybrids which form BINOL derivative complexes (LnMB, where Ln = lanthanoid, M = alkali metal, and B = BINOL derivative). These complexes efficiently promote asymmetric aldol-type reactions as well as asymmetric hydrophosphonylations of aldehydes (catalyzed by LnLB, where L = lithium), asymmetric Michael reactions (catalyzed by LnSB, where S = sodium), and asymmetric hydrophosphonylations of imines (catalyzed by LnPB, where P = potassium) to give the corresponding desired products in up to 98% ee. Spectroscopic analysis and computer simulations of these asymmetric reactions have revealed the synergistic cooperation of the two different metals in the complexes. These complexes are believed to function as both Brpnsted bases and as Lewis acids may prove to be applicable to a variety of new asymmetric catalytic reactions.1,2... 

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