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Through a computer-guided approach, new series of monophosphine ligands were designed and developed for asymmetric Suzuki–Miyaura couplings of challenging heterocyclic substrates. Computer modeling pointed to a tunable, yet unexplored quadrant in BI-DIME, leading to the discovery of the 3′,5′-dimethyl-substituted ligand which improved the atropisomeric selectivity of the Suzuki–Miyaura reaction from the previously reported 5:1 dr to 15:1 dr for the synthesis of a challenging HIV integrase intermediate, and up to 24:1 dr with various other quinoline substrates.

A simple N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) derived from 1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate was found to be an efficient ligand for a range of copper-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, leading to the formation of aromatic ethers and thioethers.

A series of efficient ruthenium catalysts has been developed for the asymmetric hydrogenation and transfer hydrogenation of ketones with high reactivities and selectivities. The new chiral bisdihydrobenzooxaphosphole (BIBOP)/diamine-ruthenium complexes catalyzed the enantioselective hydrogenation of substrates such as aryl and heteroaryl cyclic and alkyl ketones with substrate/catalyst (S/C) ratios of up to 100,000. The opposite sense of enantioselectivity can be obtained by proper selection of a diamine with a given chirality of the phosphine. The usefulness of the new system has been demonstrated in the asymmetric hydrogenation of a complex synthetic intermediate towards cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitors at S/C 20,000 on large-scale operation.

The modular nature of the BIPI ligands allows for systematic optimization of each ligand region. The development of ligands optimized for asymmetric hydrogenation of the challenging unfunctionalized olefin substrate class is described. The naphthyl peri position, C-8, has been identified as a critical stereocontrol element in the design of these ligands. Highly enantioselective ligands suitable for hydrogenation of tri- and tetrasubstituted olefins are detailed.

A novel class of C-2-substituted oxaphosphole-based monophosphines 1-4 has been synthesized. Palladium complexes derived from these ligands and their C-2-unsubstituted analogs provide general catalysts for amination reactions of challenging aryl and heteroaryl halides with sterically hindered anilines and alkylamines.