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The nuanced role of spin effects remains a critical gap in designing proficient open‐shell catalysts. This study elucidates an iron‐catalyzed allylic C(sp3)−H silylation/alkyne hydrosilylation reaction, in which the spin state of the open‐shell iron catalyst dictates the reaction kinetics and pathway. Specifically, spin crossover led to alkyne hydrosilylation, whereas spin conservation resulted in a novel allylic C(sp3)−H silylation reaction. This chemoselectivity, governed by the spin‐crossover efficiency, reveals an unexpected dimension in spin effects and a first in the realm of transition‐metal‐catalyzed in situ silylation of allylic C(sp3)−H bonds, which had been previously inhibited by the heightened reactivity of alkenes in hydrosilylation reactions. Furthermore, this spin crossover can either accelerate or hinder the reaction at different stages within a single catalytic reaction, a phenomenon scarcely documented. Moreover, we identify a substrate‐assisted C−H activation mechanism, a departure from known ligand‐assisted processes, offering a fresh perspective on C−H activation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron catalysts are ideal transition metal catalysts because of the Earths abundant, cheap, biocompatible features of iron salts. Iron catalysts often have unique open-shell structures that easily undergo spin crossover in chemical transformations, a feature rarely found in noble metal catalysts. Unfortunately, little is known currently about how the open-shell structure and spin crossover affect the reactivity and selectivity of iron catalysts, which makes the development of iron catalysts a low efficient trial-and-error program. In this paper, a combination of experiments and theoretical calculations revealed that the iron-catalyzed hydrosilylation of alkynes is typical spin-crossover catalysis. Deep insight into the electronic structures of a set of well-defined open-shell active formal Fe(0) catalysts revealed that the spin-delocalization between the iron center and the 1,10-phenanthroline ligand effectively regulates the iron center's spin and oxidation state to meet the opposite electrostatic requirements of oxidative addition and reductive elimination, respectively, and the spin crossover is essential for this electron transfer process. The triplet transition state was essential for achieving high regioselectivity through tuning the nonbonding interactions. These findings provide an important reference for understanding the effect of catalyst spin state on reaction. It is inspiring for the development of iron catalysts and other Earth-abundant metal catalysts, especially from the point of view of ligand development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stereoconvergent transformation of E/Z mixtures of olefins to products with a single steric configuration is of great practical importance but hard to achieve. Herein, we report an iron‐catalyzed stereoconvergent 1,4‐hydrosilylation reactions of E/Z mixtures of readily available conjugated dienes for the synthesis of Z‐allylsilanes with high regioselectivity and exclusive stereoselectivity. Mechanistic studies suggest that the reactions most likely proceed through a two‐electron redox mechanism. The stereoselectivity of the reactions is ultimately determined by the crowded reaction cavity of the α‐diimine ligand‐modified iron catalyst, which forces the conjugated diene to coordinate with the iron center in a cis conformation, which in turn results in generation of an anti‐π‐allyl iron intermediate. The mechanism of this stereoconvergent transformation differs from previously reported mechanisms of other related reactions involving radicals or metal‐hydride species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: The alkenylzincation of internal alkynes is an effective method for the synthesis of multi‐substituted conjugated dienes; however, the current catalytic systems for this reaction are limited in terms of substrate scope and selectivity control, which restricts its practical applications. Herein, we report the first iron‐catalyzed alkenylzincation of internal alkynes, which features mild conditions, simple operation, broad substrate scope (including aryl/alkyl, diaryl, and dialkyl acetylenes), excellent functional group tolerance (tolerating highly active functional groups such as ester, methylthio, amide, sulfonyl, cyano, etc.), and high activity (with a turnover number of up to 11500, the highest record for carbometallation reactions). Notably, the catalytic system described in this article also realized the highly selective vinylzincation of unfunctionalized internal alkynes as well as the alkenylzincation of unsymmetrical diarylacetylenes and dialkyl acetylenes, which have not been achieved with other catalytic systems reported in the literatures. The current study provides a highly selective access to synthetically important multi‐substituted conjugated dienes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the application of computational tools to the rational design of catalysts has received considerable attention, but progress has been limited by the reliance on databases and because mechanistic data have been almost neglected. Herein, we report a new strategy for catalyst design, designated catalyst‐oriented design based on elementary reactions (CODER), which fully utilizes mechanistic data, combines the strengths of computational tools and researcher experience. CODER enabled the development of extremely efficient Pd catalysts for C−N coupling, which markedly improved the efficiency of the synthesis of widely used triarylamine optoelectronic materials by enhancing the turnover numbers (up to 340000) to 1–3 orders of magnitude towards literature values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the monomers of proteins, amino acids are critical in chemistry and biology, playing important roles in multiple fields such as synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and materials chemistry. Unlike proteinogenic amino acids, unnatural amino acids can be difficult to obtain from living organisms and generally are synthesized chemically. Recently, a method involving the asymmetric N−H bond carbene insertion reaction with α‐diazoacetates as the carbene precursor has shown high enantioselectivity and good functional group tolerance, allowing for the facile synthesis of natural and unnatural amino acids and the introduction of new concepts in catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzymes are the core for biological transformations in nature. Their structures and functions have drawn enormous attention from biologists as well as chemists since last century. The large demand of bioactive molecules and the pursuit of efficiency and greenness of synthesis have spurred the rapid development of biomimetic chemistry in the past several decades. Biomimetic asymmetric catalysis, mimicking the structures and functions of enzymes, has been recognized as one of the most promising synthetic strategies for the synthesis of valuable chiral compounds. This review summarizes the evolution of asymmetric catalysis inspired by aldolases, vitamin B1/B6-dependent enzymes, NAD(P)H, flavin, hydrogenases, heme oxygenases, non-heme oxygenases, and dinuclear/multinuclear metalloenzymes in aspects of biomimetic design, catalyst development and related catalytic transformations. Those well-established synthetic approaches originating from biological reactions have demonstrated the unique prowess of biomimetic asymmetric catalysis in bridging the gap between bio-catalysis and chemical synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nazarov cyclization reaction is a convenient, widely used method for the synthesis of cyclopentenones. In this account, we reviewed our recent efforts on the chiral proton-transfer shuttle catalysts promoted enantioselective Nazarov cyclization. We have synthesized various chiral cyclopenta[ b ]indoles and chiral α,α′-disubstituted cyclopentenones by means of cooperative catalysis of a Lewis acid and a chiral spiro phosphoric acid. The mechanistic studies revealed that the chiral spiro phosphoric acid acts as a multifunctional catalyst: it co-catalyzes the cyclization of the dienone and enantioselectively catalyzes a proton-transfer reaction of the enol intermediate via a hydrogen--bonding network. 1 Introduction 2 Enantioselective Nazarov Cyclization of Indole Enones 3 Enantioselective Silicon-Directed Nazarov Cyclization 4 Conclusion [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we report the first method for highly enantioselective Brønsted acid catalyzed Heyns rearrangements. These reactions, catalyzed by a chiral spiro phosphoric acid, afforded synthetically valuable chiral α‐aryl‐α‐aminoketones which cannot be obtained by means of previously reported Heyns rearrangement methods. This method features low catalyst loadings, high yields and high enantioselectivities, making these reactions highly practical. We used the method to efficiently synthesize various chiral amines, including some biologically active molecules. We experimentally proved that these acid‐catalyzed Heyns rearrangements proceeded via a proton‐transfer process involving an enol intermediate and the stereocontrol was realized during the proton‐transfer step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report the development of new Co complexes that have cyclopropane‐based diphosphine ligands and can catalyze highly chemo‐, regio‐, and stereoselective hydroboration reactions of unsymmetrical internal alkynes. These reactions exhibited unusual regioselectivity: specifically, reactions of aryl alkyl internal alkynes showed excellent cis‐β‐addition selectivity, and reactions of dialkyl internal alkynes gave excellent cis‐α‐addition selectivity. Highly regioselective hydroboration of unsymmetrical dialkyl internal alkynes cannot be achieved by other known methods. The reactions described herein are highly synthetically useful, particularly for the stereoselective synthesis of trisubstituted alkenylborates and alkenes. Mechanistic studies indicate that a CoI−H species is a plausible active catalyst and the rigid structure of the cyclopropane skeleton of the ligands and the crowded reaction pocket were responsible for the unprecedented regioselectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report the development of a method for highly regio‐, stereo‐, and enantioselective B−H bond insertion reactions of α‐silylcarbenes generated from 1‐silylcyclopropenes in the presence of a chiral copper(I)/bisoxazoline catalyst for the construction of chiral γ,γ‐disubstituted allylic gem‐silylboranes, which cannot be prepared by any other known methods. This reaction is the first highly enantioselective carbene insertion reaction of α‐silylcarbenes ever to be reported. The method shows general applicability for various 3,3‐disubstituted silylcyclopropenes and exclusively affords E‐products. The novel chiral γ,γ‐disubstituted allylic gem‐silylborane products are versatile allylic bimetallic reagents with high stability and have great synthetic potential, especially for the construction of complex molecules with continuous chiral centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkyne hydrosilylation is one of the most efficient methods for the synthesis of alkenyl silicon derivatives and has been a hot topic of research for decades. This short review summarizes the progress in transition-metal-catalyzed stereo- and regioselective hydrosilylation of unsymmetrical alkynes. Topics are discussed based on different types of alkynes and the selectivities. 1 Introduction 2 Terminal Alkyne Hydrosilylation 2.1 β- E Selectivity 2.2 β- Z Selectivity 2.3 α-selectivity 3 Internal Alkyne Hydrosilylation 3.1 Aryl–Alkyl Acetylenes 3.2 Alkyl–Alkyl Acetylenes 3.3 Internal Alkynes with Polarized Substituents 4 Summary and Outlook [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scarcity of reliable methods for synthesizing chiral gem‐diarylmethine borons limits their applications. Herein, we report a method for highly enantioselective dirhodium‐catalyzed B−H bond insertion reactions with diaryl diazomethanes as carbene precursors. These reactions afforded chiral gem‐diarylmethine borane compounds in high yield (up to 99 % yield), high activity (turnover numbers up to 14 300), high enantioselectivity (up to 99 % ee) and showed unprecedented broad functional group tolerance. The borane compounds synthesized by this method could be efficiently transformed into diaryl methanol, diaryl methyl amine, and triaryl methane derivatives with good stereospecificity. Mechanistic studies suggested that the borane adduct coordinated to the rhodium catalyst and thus interfered with decomposition of the diazomethane, and that insertion of a rhodium carbene (generated from the diaryl diazomethane) into the B−H bond was most likely the rate‐determining step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A carbene insertion into electron‐deficient C−H bonds of 1,3‐diesters, β‐ketoesters, β‐ketonitriles, and malononitriles was realized by using CuCN/PCy3 as the catalyst. The reaction provides a straightforward approach to the synthetically important multi‐substituted succinic acid derivatives. A plausible reaction mechanism with cyclopropanation/ring opening as key steps was proposed based on control experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A protocol for iodine‐catalyzed oxidative rearrangement of tertiary and secondary amines has been developed. This metal‐free protocol provides an atom‐economical, efficient access to synthetically useful α‐amino acid derivatives from readily available acyclic and cyclic tertiary or secondary amines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The transition‐metal‐catalyzed formal C−C bond insertion reaction of diazo compounds with monocarbonyl compounds is well established, but the related reaction of 1,3‐diketones instead gives C−H bond insertion products. Herein, we report a protocol for a gold‐catalyzed formal C−C bond insertion reaction of 2‐aryl‐2‐diazoesters with 1,3‐diketones, which provides efficient access to polycarbonyl compounds with an all‐carbon quaternary center. The aryl ester moiety plays a crucial role in the unusual chemoselectivity, and the addition of a Brønsted acid to the reaction mixture improves the yield of the C−C bond insertion product. A reaction mechanism involving cyclopropanation of a gold carbenoid with an enolate and ring‐opening of the resulting donor–acceptor‐type cyclopropane intermediate is proposed. This mechanism differs from that of the traditional Lewis‐acid‐catalyzed C−C bond insertion reaction of diazo compounds with monocarbonyl compounds, which involves a rearrangement of a zwitterion intermediate as a key step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]