Asymmetric Dearomatization of Naphthols via a Rh-Catalyzed C(sp²)-H Functionalization/Annulation Reaction

A Rh-catalyzed enantioselective dearomatization of 1-aryl-2-naphthols with internal alkynes via C-H functionalization reaction was achieved. In the presence of a chiral Cp/Rh catalyst and combined oxidants of Cu(OAc)2 and air (oxygen), various highly enantioenriched spirocyclic enones bearing an all-carbon quaternary stereogenic center could be synthesized in 33-98% yields with up to 97:3 er.

Palladium-Catalyzed Dynamic Kinetic Asymmetric Transformation of Racemic Biaryls: Axial-to-Central Chirality Transfer

The first dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation of racemic biaryl substrates on the basis of axial-to-central chirality transfer has been realized. Chiral Pd-NHC complexes were found to catalyze the dynamic kinetic asymmetric spiroannulation of 4-(2-bromoaryl)-naphthalen-1-ols (or 2'-bromo-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-ols) with internal alkynes, affording a series of enantioenriched spirocyclic products bearing an all-carbon quaternary stereocenter in good yields (up to 95%) with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 97% ee).

Syntheses of arnottin I and arnottin II

Short total syntheses of arnottin I and II were accomplished in 5 and 6 steps, respectively. A sesamol-benzyne cycloaddition with a 3-furyl-benzoate followed by regiospecific lactonization provided rapid, large-scale access to the core of arnottin I. Saponification of arnottin I and hypervalent iodide mediated spirocyclization provided an efficient and direct preparation of racemic arnottin II.

Gold(I)-catalyzed dearomative Rautenstrauch rearrangement: enantioselective access to cyclopenta[b]indoles

A highly enantioselective dearomative Rautenstrauch rearrangement catalyzed by cationic (S)-DTBM-Segphosgold(I) is reported. This reaction provides a straightforward method to prepare enantioenriched cyclopenta[b]indoles. These studies show vast difference in enantioselectivity in the reactions of propargyl acetates and propargyl acetals in the chiral ligand-controlled Rautenstrauch reaction.

Catalytic asymmetric dearomatizing redox cross coupling of ketones with aryl hydrazines giving 1,4-diketones

An asymmetric Brønsted acid catalyzed dearomatizing redox cross coupling reaction has been realized, in which aryl hydrazines react with ketones to deliver 1,4-diketones, bearing an all-carbon quarternary stereocenter in high enantiopurity.

Direct asymmetric dearomatization of 2-naphthols by scandium-catalyzed electrophilic amination

Catalytic asymmetric aminative dearomatization of 1-substituted 2-naphthols was successfully implemented with electrophilic azodicarboxylates under the catalysis of chiral Sc(III)/pybox complexes. This intermolecular reaction represents a hitherto unknown enantioselective C-N bond-forming process through direct dearomatization of phenolic compounds to generate chiral nitrogen-containing quaternary carbon stereocenters.

The asymmetric synthesis of polycyclic 3-spirooxindole alkaloids via the cascade reaction of 2-isocyanoethylindoles

A highly enantioselective dearomative cascade between 2-isocyanoethylindole and 3-alkenyl-oxindoles was realized by chiral N,N′-dioxide-Mg(ii) complexes. Various spiroindolines with spiro-oxindoles were obtained in excellent results.

Unraveling the intramolecular cyclization mechanism of oxidized tryptophan in aqueous solution as a function of pH

pH tunes the mechanism of the intramolecular cyclization of 3a-substituted tryptophan derivatives.

Synthesis of pyrroloindolines and furoindolines via cascade dearomatization of indole derivatives with carbenium ion

Intermolecular cascade dearomatization of substituted indoles with benzodithiolylium tetrafluoroborate has been developed, providing C3 methyl-substituted pyrroloindolines and furoindolines.

Silver-catalyzed direct spirocyclization of alkynes with thiophenols: a simple and facile approach to 3-thioazaspiro[4,5]trienones

A convenient and efficient silver-catalyzed direct oxidative spirocyclization of alkynes with thiophenols leading to 3-thioazaspiro[4,5]trienones has been developed under air.

Expedient synthesis of nitrovinyl substituted bicyclo[2.2.2]octenone scaffolds

A simple and rapid oxidative acetalization and Diels–Alder protocol of nitrovinyl substituted guaiacols has been developed to synthesize nitrovinyl-bearing bicyclo[2.2.2]octenone derivatives.

Asymmetric Kita spirolactonisation catalysed by anti-dimethanoanthracene-based iodoarenes

Rigid C₂-symmetric anti-dimethanoanthracene-based iodoarenes at 10 mol% loading catalyse the asymmetric Kita spirolactonisation of 1-naphthols with significant levels of asymmetric induction.

Asymmetric transformations of achiral 2,5-cyclohexadienones

Cyclohexadienones are versatile platforms for performing asymmetric synthesis as evidenced by the numerous natural product syntheses that exploit their diverse reactivity profile. However, there are few general methods available for the direct asymmetric synthesis of chiral cyclohexadienones. To circumvent this problem, several researchers have developed catalytic asymmetric methods that employ readily available achiral 2,5-cyclohexadienones as substrates. Many of these reactions are desymmetrizations in which one of the enantiotopic alkenes of an achiral dienone is transformed. Others involve selective reaction at one alkene of an unsymmetrically substituted, achiral dienone. This review will cover advances in this area over the last 20 years and the application of these strategies in complex molecule synthesis.

Asymmetric dearomatization of β-naphthols through an amination reaction catalyzed by a chiral phosphoric acid

A highly efficient catalytic asymmetric dearomatization of naphthols by means of an electrophilic amination reaction catalyzed by chiral phosphoric acid is presented. This protocol provides a facile access to functionalized β-naphthalenone compounds with a chiral quaternary carbon center in excellent yields and enantioselectivity (up to 99% yield, up to 96% ee).

Mechanistic insights into the Pd-catalyzed intermolecular asymmetric allylic dearomatization of multisubstituted pyrroles: understanding the remarkable regio- and enantioselectivity

In this article we report a comprehensive density functional theory study on the Pd-catalyzed intermolecular asymmetric allylic dearomatization reactions of multisubstituted pyrroles. The calculated results are in line with the previous experimental observations (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 6590), and the remarkable regio- and enantioselectivity are well explained. Of all the potential nucleophilic sites around the multisubstituted pyrrole ring, the reaction always occurs at the position where the HOMO of the molecule distributes most significantly. In contrast to the common view on the enantioselectivity of the Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reactions, we find that the steric interaction between the nucleophile and the chiral ligand does not have the dominating effect on the enantioselectivity of the reaction. Instead, the interaction between the allyl moiety and the incoming nucleophile plays an important role in the enantioselectivity-determining process.

Metal-free enantioselective electrophilic activation of allenamides: stereoselective dearomatization of indoles

The effective and unprecedented chiral BINOL phosphoric acid catalyzed (1-10 mol%) dearomatization of indoles through electrophilic activation of allenamides (ee up to 94%), is documented. Besides the synthesis of 3,3-disubstituted indolenine cores, a dearomatization/hydrogen transfer cascade sequence is also presented as a new synthetic shortcut toward highly enantiomerically enriched indolines.