Novel, general synthesis of the chiral catalysts diphosphine-ruthenium (II) diallyl complexes and a new practical in situ preparation of chiral ruthenium (II) catalysts

Preparation and characterization of novel Os-diolefin dimers: new entry to Os-cyclooctadiene complexes

The complex [H(EtOH)2][{OsCl(eta4-COD)}2(mu-H)(mu-Cl)2] (1) has been prepared in high yield by treatment of OsCl3.3H2O (54% Os) with 1,5-cyclooctadiene in ethanol under reflux. Under air, it is unstable and undergoes oxidation by action of O2 to afford the neutral derivative {OsCl(eta4-COD)}2(mu-H)(mu-Cl)2 (2). The terminal chlorine ligands of the anion of 1 are activated toward nucleophilic substitution. Thus, reaction of the salt [NBu4][{OsCl(eta4-COD)}2(mu-H)(mu-Cl)2] (1a) with NaCp in toluene gives [NBu4][{Os(mu1-C5H5)(eta4-COD)}(mu-H)(mu-Cl)2{OsCl(eta4-COD)}] (3) as a result of the replacement of one of the terminal chlorine atoms by the cyclopentadienyl ligand. The CH2 group of the latter can be deprotonated by the bridging methoxy ligand of the iridium dimer [Ir(mu-OMe)(eta4-COD)]2. The reaction leads to the trinuclear derivative [NBu4][{(eta4-COD)Ir(mu5-C5H4-mu1)Os(eta4-COD)}(mu-H)(mu-Cl)2{OsCl(eta4-COD)}] (4) containing a bridging C5H4 ligand that is eta1-coordinated to an osmium atom of the dimeric unit and mu5-coordinated to the Ir(eta4-COD) moiety. Salt 1a also reacts with LiC[triple bond]CPh. In this case, the reaction produces the substitution of both terminal chlorine ligands to afford the bis(alkynyl) derivative [NBu4][{Os(C[triple bond]CPh)(eta4-COD)}2(mu-H)(mu-Cl)2] (5). Complexes 1, 2, 3, and 4 have been characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis. Although the separations between the osmium atoms are short, between 2.6696(4) and 2.8633(5) A, theoretical calculations indicate that only in 2 is there direct metal-metal interaction, as the bond order is 0.5.

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of N-Boc-Indoles

Highly enantioselective hydrogenation of various N-Boc-indoles proceeded successfully in the presence of the ruthenium complex generated from an appropriate ruthenium precursor and a trans-chelate chiral bisphosphine PhTRAP. Various 2- or 3-substituted indoles were converted into chiral indolines with high enantiomeric excesses (up to 95% ee). The PhTRAP-ruthenium catalyst was able to promote the hydrogenation of 2,3-dimethylindoles, giving cis-2,3-dimethylindolines with 72% ee.

A New Class of Versatile Chiral-Bridged Atropisomeric Diphosphine Ligands: Remarkably Efficient Ligand Syntheses and Their Applications in Highly Enantioselective Hydrogenation Reactions

A series of chiral diphosphine ligands denoted as PQ-Phos was prepared by atropdiastereoselective Ullmann coupling and ring-closure reactions. The Ullmann coupling reaction of the biaryl diphosphine dioxides is featured by highly efficient central-to-axial chirality transfer with diastereomeric excess >99%. This substrate-directed diastereomeric biaryl coupling reaction is unprecedented for the preparation of chiral diphosphine dioxides, and our method precludes the tedious resolution procedures usually required for preparing enantiomerically pure diphosphine ligands. The effect of chiral recognition was also revealed in a relevant asymmetric ring-closure reaction. The chiral tether bridging the two aryl units creates a conformationally rigid scaffold essential for enantiofacial differentiation; fine-tuning of the ligand scaffold (e.g., dihedral angles) can be achieved by varying the chain length of the chiral tether. The enantiomerically pure Ru- and Ir-PQ-Phos complexes have been prepared and applied to the catalytic enantioselective hydrogenations of alpha- and beta-ketoesters (C=O bond reduction), 2-(6'-methoxy-2'-naphthyl)propenoic acid, alkyl-substituted beta-dehydroamino acids (C=C bond reduction), and N-heteroaromatic compounds (C=N bond reduction). An excellent level of enantioselection (up to 99.9% ee) has been attained for the catalytic reactions. In addition, the significant ligand dihedral angle effects on the Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of N-heteroaromatic compounds were also revealed.

Chiral biphenyl diphosphines for asymmetric catalysis: stereoelectronic design and industrial perspectives

Two original chiral diphosphines, SYNPHOS and DIFLUORPHOS, have been synthesized on multigram scales. Their steric and electronic profiles have been established in comparison with the commonly used 2,2'-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1'-binaphthyl and 6,6'-dimethoxy-2,2'-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1'-biphenyl ligands. A screening study of the four ligands in Ru(II)-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral ketones and olefins has been performed. It revealed that the stereoelectronic features of the ligand and the substrate deeply influenced the enantioselectivities obtained in asymmetric hydrogenation, SYNPHOS and DIFLUORPHOS being fully complementary in terms of enantioselectivity for this reaction.

Stereoselective synthesis of iso-dolaproine via dynamic kinetic resolution

[see reaction]. An efficient multigram-scale synthesis of optically pure Boc-(2S,3R,4S)-iso-dolaproine is reported using dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR). The catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation of ethyl (4S)-3-(2'-pyrrolidinyl)-3-oxo-2-methyl propanoate hydrochloride using in situ generated Ru[(S)-MeO-BIPHEP]Br2 catalyst affords the anti beta-hydroxy alpha-methyl ester quantitatively. The two new stereogenic centers are simultaneously controlled with high diastereoselectivity.