Rhodium I -Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydroacylation of Olefins and Alkynes with Aldehydes

One of the landmark achievements in the area of enantioselective catalysis has been the development of a large-scale commercial application of the Rh(I)/BINAP-catalyzed asymmetric isomerization of allylic amines to enamines. Unfortunately, methods for the isomerization of other families of olefins have not yet reached a comparable level of sophistication. However, since the early 1990s promising catalyst systems have been described for enantioselective isomerizations of allylic alcohols and aUylic ethers. In view of the utility of catalytic asymmetric olefin isomerization reactions, I have no doubt that the coming years will witness additional exciting progress in the development of highly effective catalysts for these and related substrates. 

Rhodium(l)-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydroacylation of Olefins and Alkynes with Aldehydes 

The most significant progress that has been described to date in the area of rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric hydroacylation of olefms/alkynes with aldehydes has involved intramolecular processes that generate either cyclopentanones or cyclopentenones. Fig. 4.2 illustrates two of the more likely mechanisms for these ring-forming reactions [12, 13]. 

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