Carbene-Catalyzed Asymmetric Ring-Opening Reaction of Biaryl Lactams to Access Axially Chiral Biaryls

Axially chiral biaryls represent the most important class of atropisomers,and they widely exist in natural products and biologically active molecules.They also constitute a unique scaffold for chiral ligands and catalysts in organic synthesis.The development of synthetic methods to obtain such chiral compounds has received widespread attention,among which catalytically atroposelective ring-opening of configurationally labile compounds represents one of the most attractive strategies.Various substrates with strained cyclic structures,such as the renowned Bringmann's lactones,can undergo asymmetric transformation into stable atropisomers.Known advancement primarily relies on metal catalyst combined with well-designed chiral ligands,the approaches utilizing organocatalysis as a critical resolution strategy are notably scarce.In this study,we disclosed a N-heterocyclic carbene(NHC)-catalyzed asymmetric ring-opening reaction of biaryl lactams via direct atroposelective nucleophilic activation.The optimized bulky carbene catalyst ensures that the reaction can proceed under mild conditions,affording the desired product with good to excellent yields and atroposelectivity.

An unprecedented synthesis of axially chiral biaryls by rearrangement and aromatization of carbocations with central-to-axial conversion of chirality

The central-to-axial chirality conversion represents a fascinating class of chemical processes consisting of the destruction of stereogenic centers and the simultaneous installation of axial chiral elements,which provides efficient methods for the preparation of axially chiral compounds.However,developing catalytic asymmetric approaches for constructing these central chirality precursors and the efficient central-to-axial chirality conversion remains a challenge due to the requirement of aromatization or elimination process.In this work,we have developed an unprecedented enantioselective intramolecular FriedelCrafts alkylation with unactivated-ketone carbonyls from which a chiral tertiary alcohol was generated with high efficiency and excellent enantioselectivity.In addition,the central-to-axial chirality conversion strategy has been successfully applied to the synthesis of enantioenriched biaryls via a less-explored carbocation-initiated rearrangement and aromatization under the promotion of Lewis acid.This methodology provided a straightforward and sustainable access to a broad range of biaryl-2-carboxylic acid and in excellent yields(up to 92%)and excellent central-to-axial chirality conversion(up to 99%conversion percentage).This work could be a great model for developing new methods for synthesizing axially chiral biaryls and a general protocol for the rearrangement and aromatization of carbocations for further functionalization.

Merging C–H and C–C Activation in Pd(Ⅱ)-Catalyzed Enantioselective Synthesis of Axially Chiral Biaryls

The merging of C-H and C-C bond cleavage into one single chemical process remains a daunting challenge,especially in an asymmetric manner.Herein,a Pd(Ⅱ)-catalyzed enantioselective tandem C-H/C-C activation for the synthesis of axially chiral biaryls is described.Two types of simple cyclopropanes,such as vinylcyclopropanes and cyclopropanols,were used as efficient and readily available coupling partners.

Catalytic asymmetric Catellani-type reaction: A powerful tool for axial chirality construction

This highlight summarizes a recent development of a catalytic enantioselective Catellani-type reaction for the synthesis of axially chiral biaryls.The chirality induction is solely governed by chiral norbornene ligand in the Pd mediated ortho C–H functionalization and ipso cross-coupling transformation.The preparative power of the methodology is demonstrated as a powerful manifold for the divergent synthesis of structurally diverse axially chiral biaryls and chiral fluorenols.

Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Atroposelective C-H Indolylization of 1-Aryl Isoquinolines with 3-Indolylphenyliodonium Salts

Rhodium(III)-catalyzed enantioselective C-H indolylization of isoquinolines was developed.The C-H coupling reactions between 1-aryl isoquinoline derivatives and 3-indolylphenyliodonium salts proceeded smoothly in the presence of a modified chiral cyclopentadienyl-Rh(III)complex,affording a series of axially chiral indolylated biaryl products in excellent yields and enantioselectivity(up to 98%yield and 95%ee).