Rhodium/Chiral-Diene-Catalyzed Switchable Asymmetric Divergent Arylation of Enone-Diones

Rhodium(I)-Catalyzed Asymmetric Cascade Reactions

Rhodium(I)-catalyzed asymmetric cascade reactions have emerged as powerful tools in contemporary organic synthesis, enabling efficient construction of complex molecular architectures. These transformations proceed through organorhodium intermediates, which undergo additions to reactive π-bonds, subsequently triggering cascade reactions with neighboring functional groups to effectively forge multiple carbon-carbon bonds and stereogenic centers in a single step under mild conditions. This article reviews the pioneering developments and recent breakthroughs from 2002 to 2024, highlighting the attractive advantages of rhodium(I)-catalyzed asymmetric cascade reactions and their profound impacts on synthetic organic chemistry.

Palladium-catalyzed regio- and stereo-selective phosphination of cyclic biarylsulfonium salts to access atropoisomeric phosphines

A palladium-catalyzed regio- and stereo-selective phosphination of cyclic biarylsulfonium salts (racemic) with HPAr3Ar4 for straightforward synthesis of atropoisomeric phosphines (P,S-ligands) bearing a stereogenic axis or both a stereogenic axis and a P-stereogenic center is reported. The high reactivity and regio- and stereo-selectivity originate from the torsional strain release and palladium catalysis, and the construction of a P-stereogenic center is enabled by an efficient dynamic kinetic resolution. The high performance of the nascent P,S-ligands has been demonstrated in palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitutions, indicating the great potential of the present methodology.

Enolates ambushed - asymmetric tandem conjugate addition and subsequent enolate trapping with conventional and less traditional electrophiles

Metal enolates are useful intermediates and building blocks indispensable in many organic synthetic transformations. Chiral metal enolates obtained by asymmetric conjugate additions of organometallic reagents are structurally complex intermediates that can be employed in many transformations. In this review, we describe this burgeoning field that is reaching maturity after more than 25 years of development. The effort of our group to broaden possibilities to engage metal enolates in reactions with new electrophiles is described. The material is divided according to the organometallic reagent employed in the conjugate addition step, and thus to the particular metal enolate formed. Short information on applications in total synthesis is also given.

Organocatalyzed enantio- and diastereoselective isomerization of prochiral 1,3-cyclohexanediones into nonalactones bearing distant stereocenters

The lactonization of 2-(2-nitrophenyl)-1,3-cyclohexanediones containing an alcohol side chain and up to three distant prochiral elements is reported by isomerization under the mediation of simple organocatalysts such as quinidine. Through a process of ring expansion, strained nonalactones and decalactone are produced with up to three stereocenters in high er and dr (up to 99 : 1). Distant groups, including alkyl, aryl, carboxylate and carboxamide moieties, were examined.