Levopimaric acid derived 1,2-diamines and their application in the copper-catalyzed asymmetric Henry reaction

Asymmetric Henry Reaction of Nitromethane with Substituted Aldehydes Catalyzed by Novel In Situ Generated Chiral Bis(β-Amino Alcohol-Cu(OAc)2·H2O Complex

Novel chiral thiophene-2,5-bis(β-amino alcohol) ligands (L1–L5) were designed and synthesized from thiophene-2,5-dicarbaldehyde (3) with chiral β-amino alcohols (4a–e) in 4 steps with overall 23% yields. An in situ generated L-Cu(OAc)2·H2O catalyst system was found to be highly capable catalyst for the asymmetric Henry reaction of nitromethane (7) with various substituted aromatic aldehydes (6a–m) producing chiral nitroaldols product (8a–m) with excellent enantiomeric purity (up to 94.6% ee) and up to >99% chemical yields. 20 mol% of L4-Cu(OAc)2 catalyst complex in EtOH was effective for the asymmetric Henry transformation in 24 h, at ambient temperature. Ease of ligand synthesis, use of green solvent, base free reaction, mild reaction conditions, high yields and excellent enantioselectivity are all key factors that make this catalytic system robust and highly desirable for the access of versatile building block β-nitro alcohol in practical catalytic usage via asymmetric Henry reaction.

Enantioselective Henry Reaction Catalyzed by Copper(II) Complex of Bis(trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diamine)-Based Ligand

Copper(II) complex of the ligand possessing two enantiomerically pure trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diamine units proved to be an efficient catalyst for the enantioselective Henry reaction of aromatic aldehydes with nitromethane. The effect of various reaction conditions on yield and enantioselectivity of the Henry reaction was studied. The results suggest that only one cyclohexane-1,2-diamine unit is involved in catalysis of the Henry reaction.

Henry Reaction Revisited. Crucial Role of Water in an Asymmetric Henry Reaction Catalyzed by Chiral NNO-Type Copper(II) Complexes

Chiral copper(II) and cobalt(III) complexes (1-5 and 6, respectively) derived from Schiff bases of (S)-2-(aminomethyl)pyrrolidine and salicylaldehyde derivatives were employed in a mechanistic study of the Henry reaction-type condensation of nitromethane and o-nitrobenzaldehyde in CH₂Cl₂ (CD₂Cl₂), containing different amounts of water. The reaction kinetics was monitored by ¹H and ¹³C NMR. The addition of water had a different influence on the activity of the two types of complexes, ranging from a crucial positive effect in the case of the copper(II) complex 2 to insignificant in the case of the stereochemically inert cobalt(III) complex 6. No experimental support was found by ¹H NMR studies for the classical Lewis acid complexation of the carbonyl group of the aldehyde by the central copper(II) ion, and, moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations support the absence of such coordination. On the other hand, a very significant complexation was found for water, and it was supported by DFT calculations. In fact, we suggest that it is the Brønsted acidity of the water molecule coordinated to the metal ion that triggers the aldehyde activation. The rate-limiting step of the reaction was the removal of an α-proton from the nitromethane molecule, as supported by the observed kinetic isotope effect equaling 6.3 in the case of the copper complex 2. It was found by high-resolution mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization that the copper(II) complex 2 existed in CH₂Cl₂ in a dimeric form. The reaction had a second-order dependence on the catalyst concentration, which implicated two dimeric forms of the copper(II) complex 2 in the rate-limiting step. Furthermore, DFT calculations help to generate a plausible structure of the stereodetermining transition step of the condensation.

Data on nitrogen-containing derivatives of fumaropimaric acid

The data presented here are related to the research paper entitled “Levopimaric Acid Derived 1,2-Diamines and Their Application in the Copper-Catalyzed Asymmetric Henry Reaction” [1]. In this data article, we provide ¹H, ¹³C NMR and IR data for the diterpene derivatives described in [1]. The GC–MS analysis of pine oleoresin used as a starting material of the syntheses is also included in the data article.