Rhodium-catalyzed amination

Some of the hydroarylation product is also observed substituted anilines afford the two products to varying degrees (Equation (15)). The closely related rhodium complexes [Rh(PCy3)2Cl]2, [Rh(dmpe)Cl]2 (where dmpe= l,2-bis(dimethylphosphino)ethane), and [Rh(C8H14)Cl]2 show essentially no catalytic activity.166 Application of [Rh(PEt3)2Cl]2 to the reaction of aniline with styrene gives a mixture of hydroamination and oxidative amination products, the latter predominating.167 Other related rhodium-catalyzed amination reactions (oxidative amination) have been reported.168 169... 

Study of the mechanism of the rhodium-catalyzed hydroamination of ethylene with secondary amines indicated that the piperidine complex trans-RhCl(C2H4)(piperidine)2 can serve as a catalyst precursor [109, 110]. 

Rhodium-catalyzed oxidative C arylations of unprotected pyrroles have been reported, and the products were the result of both arylation and amination processes (Equation (28)).37... 

A titanium-mediated amination followed by a directed rhodium-catalyzed C-H functionalization of an olefinic C-H leads to heterocycles (Equation (184)).149... 

It thus came as a surprise that in the year 2000, three groups independently reported the use of three new classes of monodentate ligands (Scheme 28.2) [12], The ligands induced remarkably high enantioselectivities, comparable to those obtained using the best bidentate phosphines, in the rhodium-catalyzed enantioselective alkene hydrogenation. All three being based on a BINOL backbone, and devoid of chirality on phosphorus, these monophosphonites [13], monophosphites [14] and monophosphoramidites [15] are very easy to prepare and are equipped with a variable alkyl, alkoxy, or amine functionality, respectively. 

Rhodium-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of N-acyl enamides provides access to enantioenriched amides which can be hydrolyzed to the free amines. The synthesis of the substtates is considerably less sttaightforward than that of N-acyl dehydroamino acids, which explains the smaller number of reports devoted to N-acyl enamides. 

Rhodium-Catalyzed Nucleophilic Ring Cleaving Reactions of Allylic Ethers and Amines... 

Evans and co-workers demonstrated that rhodium-catalyzed allylic amination of enantiomerically enriched acyclic unsymmetrical allylic carbonates occurs with excellent regio- and enantiospedfidty (Tab. 10.5) [35]. Interestingly, while the classical nitrogen nucleophiles furnished allylic amination products in poor yield and with modest regioselectivity, the lithium anion of N-toluenesulfonyl-N-alkylamines proved optimal, in terms of nucleophilicity and basicity. 

Scheme 10.8 outlines the application of rhodium-catalyzed allyhc amination to the preparation of (il)-homophenylalanine (J )-38, a component of numerous biologically active agents [36]. The enantiospecific rhodium-catalyzed allylic amination of (l )-35 with the lithium anion of N-benzyl-2-nitrobenzenesulfonamide furmshed aUylamine (R)-36 in 87% yield (2° 1° = 55 1 >99% cee) [37]. The N-2-nitrobenzenesulfonamide was employed to facilitate its removal under mild reaction conditions. Hence, oxidative cleavage of the alkene (R)-36 followed by deprotection furnished the amino ester R)-37 [37, 38]. Hydrogenation of the hydrochloride salt of (l )-37 followed by acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of the ester afforded (i )-homophenylalanine (R)-3S in 97% overall yield. 

Tab. 10.5 Enantiospecific rhodium-catalyzed allylic amination of enantiomerically enriched allylic carbonates.

The stereoselective construction of nitrogen heterocycles remains a topic of intense synthetic interest [39]. Evans and Robinson described the combination of the stereospecific aUylic amination with ring-closing metathesis as a strategy for the constmction of mono- and disubstituted azacycles, which they demonstrated with the stereospecific construction of cis- and tra s-2,5-disubstituted pyrrolines [40]. Furthermore, this approach provided an ideal system for the determination of whether the enantiospecific rhodium-catalyzed aUyhc amination with an enantiomerically enriched nucleophile experiences a matched and a mismatched reaction manifold. 

Tab. 10.6 The TolN(Li)Mbs. scope of regioselective rhodium-catalyzed allylic amination of carbonates with...

The relative importance of N-substituted arylamines for the construction of biologically significant molecules, particularly pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, prompted the extension of rhodium-catalyzed allylic amination to aniline nucleophiles (Tab. 10.6) [41, 42]. The N-arylsulfonyl-protected anihnes were again optimal for high selectivity, analogous to that observed with the N-toluenesulfonyl-N-aLkylamines. 

The combination of allylic amination, ring-closing metathesis, and a free radical cyclization provides a convenient approach to the dihydrobenzo[b]indoline skeleton, as illustrated in Scheme 10.10. The rhodium-catalyzed aUylic amination of 43 with the lithium anion of 2-iodo-(N-4-methoxybenzenesulfonyl)arrihne furnished the corresponding N-(arylsulfonyl)aniline 44. The diene 44 was then subjected to ring-closing metathesis and subsequently treated with tris(trimethylsilyl)silane and triethylborane to afford the dihydrobenzojhjindole derivative 46a in 85% yield [14, 43]. 

Based on previous success in the Pauson-Khand reaction [43], Evans demonstrated a sequential approach to the synthesis of eight-membered rings, which involved a rhodium-catalyzed aUyhc amination reaction followed by carbocyclization, to effect a three-component couphng (Scheme 12.11). To date, this transformation is only the second example of a sequential rhodium-catalyzed reaction in which only temperature is used to modulate catalytic activity. 

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