Metallocene-dienophile complexes

Collins and co-workers have also reported on an enantioselective catalytic Diels—Alder cycloaddition, in which zirconocene and titanocene bis(triflate) complexes were used as catalysts [104], The influence of the solvent polarity on the observed levels of stereoselectivity is noteworthy. For example, as shown in Scheme 6.34, with 108 as the catalyst, whereas in CH2C12 (1 mol% catalyst) the endo product was formed with 30% ee (30 1 endoxxo, 88% yield), in CH3N02 solution (5 mol% catalyst) the enantioselectivity was increased to 89% (7 1 endoxxo, 85% yield). Extensive 1H and 19F NMR studies further indicated that a mixture of metallocene—dienophile complexes was present in both solutions (-6 1 in CH2C12 and -2 1 in CH3N02, as shown in Scheme 6.34), and that most probably it was the minor complex isomer that was more reactive and led to the observed major enantiomer. For example, whereas nOe experiments led to ca. 5 % enhancement of the CpH proton signals of the same ring when Hb in the minor complex was irradiated, no enhancements were observed upon irradiation of Ha in the major complex. 

A chiral zw a-metallocene triflate complex catalyzes the Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction between an oxazolidinone-based dienophile and cyclopentadiene [206]. Triflate in titanocene and zirconocene complexes is labile [207,208] and thus the polarity of solvent influences the reactivity and enantioselectivity. Asymmetric hydrogenation of imines and enamines catalyzed by chiral aw a-titanocene catalyst provides amines with high enantioselectivity [209,210]. 

Cationic ansa metallocenes can be utilized as chiral catalysts in Diels-Alder reactions. For example, in the presence of the cationic zirconocene complex [(ebthi)Zr(Ot-Bu) thf]+, the [4 + 2] cycloaddition of acrolein and cyclopentadiene proceeds efficiently to afford endo and exo cycloadducts (equation 71). In reactions in which methyl acrylate is used as the dienophile, cycloadditions occur with lower levels of enan-tioselection (23% ee), but with significantly higher degrees of diastereoselectivity (17 1 endo, exo). In these processes, recent studies demonstrated the great influence of chiral metallocene structure and the dramatic solvent effect. ... 

Chiral metallocene complex [(S)-l,2-ethylencbis()j5-tetrahydroindenoyl)]Ti(OTf)2 422a and its zirconium analog 422b efficiently catalyzed the cycloadditions of 1,3-oxazolidin-2-one based dienophiles 17a and 404 with cyclopentadiene which gave 421 and 405, respectively . The endo selectivity was highest in dichloromethane, whereas the enantioselectivity was higher in nitroalkane solvents (equation 127, Table 24). 

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