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The regio- and enantioselective functionalization of 1,3-dienes has become a powerful tool for the synthesis of allylic compounds, yet it remains a challenge for aliphatic dienes. Herein, we report...

Summary Transfer functionalization has emerged as an efficient strategy for the synthesis of organic functional compounds. This article reports a new cleavage model of functional radicals, which enables transfer hydrocyanation of alkenes, dienes, and alkynes. By introducing readily available, low-toxic azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as a hydrocyanation reagent, we have developed a practical and economic method for the preparation of nitrile compounds. Mechanistic studies showed that the hydrocyanation proceeds through a relay transfer of the cyano group and the hydrogen atom of cyanoisopropyl radicals generated by pyrolysis of AIBN. The reaction represents the first example of group transfer of α-functional radicals.

An iridium catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of racemic exocyclic γ,δ-unsaturated β-ketoesters via dynamic kinetic resolution to functionalized chiral allylic alcohols was developed. With the chiral spiro iridium catalysts Ir-SpiroPAP, a series of racemic exocyclic γ,δ-unsaturated β-ketoesters bearing a five-, six-, or seven-membered ring were hydrogenated to the corresponding functionalized chiral allylic alcohols in high yields with good to excellent enantioselectivities (87 to >99% ee) and cis-selectivities (93 : 7 to >99 : 1). The origin of the excellent stereoselectivity was also rationalized by density functional theory calculations. Furthermore, this protocol could be performed on gram scale and at a lower catalyst loading (0.002 mol%) without the loss of reactivity and enantioselectivity, and has been successfully applied in the enantioselective synthesis of chiral carbocyclic δ-amino esters and the β-galactosidase inhibitor isogalactofagomine., An iridium catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of exocyclic γ,δ-unsaturated β-ketoesters via dynamic kinetic resolution was developed, providing efficient protocol for enantioselective synthesis of functionalized chiral allylic alcohols.

A highly enantio- and regioselective hydrosulfonylation of 1,3-dienes with sulfonyl hydrazides has been realized by using a palladium catalyst containing a monodentate chiral spiro phosphoramidite ligand. The reaction provided an efficient approach to synthetically useful chiral allylic sulfones. Mechanistic studies suggest that the reaction proceeds through the formation of an allyl hydrazine intermediate and subsequent rearrangement to the chiral allylic sulfone product. The transformation of the allyl hydrazine intermediate to the product is the enantioselectivity-determining step.

Although the transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of aromatic ketones has been extensively explored, the enantioselective hydrogenation of aliphatic ketones remains a challenge becau...

An efficient asymmetric hydrogenation of racemic α-aryl-s-ethoxycarbonyl cyclopentanones via dynamic kinetic resolution is reported. Via catalysis by a chiral iridium Ir-SpiroPAP catalyst, a range of racemic α-aryl-s-ethoxycarbonyl cyclopentanones were hydrogenated to the corresponding ester-functionalized chiral 2-arylcyclopentanols with three contiguous stereocenters in high yields with excellent enantio- and diastereoselectivities. This method was successfully applied in the enantioselective synthesis of cyclopentane-based I³-amino ester/alcohol derivatives and phenylpropanoid (+)-burmaniol A.

A ligand-enabled nickel-catalyzed intramolecular hydroalkenylation of imines with unactivated alkenes has been developed. A variety of five- and six-membered cyclic allylic amines were synthesized in high yields. The use of both wide-bite-angle diphosphine ligand and Bronsted acid is crucial for realizing the reaction. Preliminary investigation of the asymmetric intramolecular hydroalkenylation of imines shows promising potential for the application of the method in the synthesis of enantio-enriched cyclic allylic amines.

An efficient asymmetric hydrogenation of racemic γ-substituted cyclic β-ketoesters via dynamic kinetic resolution to provide chiral cyclic β-hydroxy esters with three contiguous stereocenters is reported. Using a chiral spiro iridium catalyst (R)-5 (Ir-SpiroSAP), a series of racemic γ-aryl/alkyl substituted cyclic β-ketoesters were hydrogenated to the corresponding chiral cyclic β-hydroxy esters in high yields (84-97%) with good to excellent enantioselectivities (69->99% ee) and cis,cis-selectivities (up to >99:1).

We report an enantioselective hydroarylation reaction of styrenes and 1,3-dienes with arylboronic acids catalyzed by nickel complexes bearing chiral spiro aminophosphine ligands. The reaction serve...

A protocol for highly enantioselective hydrogenation of racemic α-arylamino lactones with catalysis by site-specifically modified chiral spiro iridium complexes has been developed. With the optimized catalyst, racemic α-arylamino-γ-lactones and α-arylamino-δ-lactones could be hydrogenated to the corresponding chiral 2-amino diols with good to excellent enantioselectivities.

This account describes our latest advances in the field of nickel(0)-catalyzed hydrofunctionalization of π components. All reactions proceed either through internal hydride transfer or by using an external proton as the hydride source, thereby eliminating the use of stoichiometric amounts of reductants or oxidants. These nickel-catalyzed atom-economical coupling reactions demonstrate that nickel not only is an inexpensive metal catalyst, but also possesses unique and versatile catalytic abilities. Current limitations and the outlook of these reactions are also discussed.1 Introduction2 Nickel(0)-Catalyzed Hydroacylation of Styrenes with Simple Aldehydes3 Nickel(0)-Catalyzed Hydroalkenylation of Imines and Aldehydes with Alkenes4 Nickel(0)-Catalyzed Hydroarylation of Styrenes and 1,3-Dienes with Organoboronic Derivatives5 Nickel(0)-Catalyzed Hydroalkylation of 1,3-Dienes with Simple Ketones6 Summary and Outlook

A highly enantioselective and diastereoselective nickel-catalyzed desymmetrizing cyclization of 1,6-dienes was developed by using chiral spiro phosphoramidite ligands. The reaction provides a new atom- and step-economical approach to chiral spiro lactones and analogues bearing a quaternary stereocenter.

A protocol of iridium catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of 4-alkyl substituted 3-ethoxycarbonyl quinolin-2-ones and coumarins has been reported, providing a wide range of chiral dihydroquinolin-2-ones and dihydrocoumarins in high yields with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) and high turnover numbers (up to 28 000). This efficient protocol was successfully applied for the synthesis of MPR3160 and the key chiral intermediate of R-106578.

A rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of alkynes with formic acid was developed. The method provides α,β-unsaturated aldehydes in high yield and E-selectivity without the need to handle toxic CO gas.

Herein, we report a practical method for efficient asymmetric hydrogenation of β-aryl alkylidene malonates. With a site-specifically tailored chiral spiro iridium catalyst, a series of β-aryl alkylidene malonate esters were hydrogenated to afford chiral malonate esters with good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) and high turnover numbers (up to 19000). The results showed that installing an ester group in α,β-unsaturated carboxylic esters significantly increased the efficiency of their asymmetric hydrogenation reactions.

A highly efficient asymmetric hydrogenation of γ- and δ-ketoacids was developed by using a chiral spiro iridium catalyst (S)-1a, affording the optically active γ- and δ-hydroxy acids/lactones in high yields with excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee) and turnover numbers (TON up to 100000). This protocol provides an efficient and practical method for enantioselective synthesis of Ezetimibe.

A green and efficient iridium-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of alkynyl ketones to chiral propargylic alcohols has been developed. By using sodium formate and ethanol as hydrogen sources, a series of alkynyl ketones were hydrogenated by chiral spiro iridium catalyst ( S)-1b to provide optically active chiral propargylic alcohols with up to 98% ee under base-free conditions. This protocol provides a practical and sustainable method for the preparation of optically active propargylic alcohols.

A nickel(0)-catalyzed hydroalkenylation of imines with styrene and its derivatives is described. A wide range of aromatic and aliphatic imines directly coupled with styrene and its derivatives, thus providing various synthetically useful allylic amines with up to 95 % yield. The reaction offers a new atom- and step-economical approach to allylic amines by using alkenes instead of alkenyl-metallic reagents. Experiments and DFT calculations showed that TsNH2 promotes the proton transfer from the coordinated olefin to the imine, accompanied by a new C-C bond formation.

A Ni-catalyzed hydroarylation of styrenes and 1,3-dienes with organoboron compounds has been developed. The reaction offers a highly selective approach to diarylalkanes and allylarenes under redox-neutral conditions. In this hydroarylation reaction, a new strategy that uses the proton of methanol to generate the active catalyst species Ni-H was developed. The Ni-catalyzed hydroarylation, combined with a Ir-catalyzed C-H borylation, affords a very efficient and straightforward access to a retinoic acid receptor agonist.

Chiral carboxylic acid moieties are widely found in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, flavors, fragrances, and health supplements. Although they can be synthesized straightforwardly by transition-metal-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of unsaturated carboxylic acids, because the existing chiral catalysts have various disadvantages, the development of new chiral catalysts with high activity and enantioselectivity is an important, long-standing challenge. Ruthenium complexes with chiral diphosphine ligands and rhodium complexes with chiral monodentate or bidentate phosphorus ligands have been the predominant catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation of unsaturated acids. However, the efficiency of these catalysts is highly substrate-dependent, and most of the reported catalysts require a high loading, high hydrogen pressure, or long reaction time for satisfactory results. Our recent studies have revealed that chiral iridium complexes with chiral spiro-phosphine-oxazoline ligands and chiral spiro-phosphine-benzylamine ligands exhibit excellent activity and enantioselectivity in the hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids, including α,β-disubstituted acrylic acids, trisubstituted acrylic acids, α-substituted acrylic acids, and heterocyclic α,β-unsaturated acids. On the basis of an understanding of the role of the carboxy group in iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation reactions, we developed a carboxy-group-directed strategy for asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins. Using this strategy, we hydrogenated several challenging olefin substrates, such as β,γ-unsaturated carboxylic acids, 1,1-diarylethenes, 1,1-dialkylethenes, and 1-alkyl styrenes in high yield and with excellent enantioselectivity. All these iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation reactions feature high turnover numbers (up to 10000) and turnover frequencies (up to 6000 h

We developed neutral iridium catalysts with chiral spiro phosphine-carboxy ligands (SpiroCAP) for asymmetric hydrogenation of unsaturated carboxylic acids. Different from the cationic Crabtree-type catalysts, the iridium catalysts with chiral spiro phosphine-carboxy ligands are neutral and do not require the use of a tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate (BArF-) counterion, which is necessary for stabilizing cationic Crabtree-type catalysts. Another advantage of the neutral iridium catalysts is that they have high stability and have a long lifetime in air. The new iridium catalysts with chiral spiro phosphine-carboxy ligands exhibit unprecedented high enantioselectivity (up to 99.4% ee) in the asymmetric hydrogenations of various unsaturated carboxylic acids, particularly for 3-alkyl-3-methylenepropionic acids, which are challenging substrates for other chiral catalysts.

A bioinspired enantioselective synthesis of crinine-type alkaloids has been developed by iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of racemic cycloenones. The method features a biomimetic stereodivergent resolution of the substrates bearing a remote arylated quaternary stereocenter. Using this protocol, 24 crinine-type alkaloids and 8 analogues were synthesized in a concise and rapid way with high yield and high enantioselectivity.

Nickel-catalyzed highly regioselective hydroalkylation and hydroalkenylation of dienes were achieved with different hydrazones., Transition-metal-catalyzed hydrofunctionalization of 1,3-dienes is a useful and atom-economical method for constructing allylic compounds. Although substantial progress on hydroalkylation of dienes with stabilized carbon nucleophiles has been made, hydroalkylation of dienes with unstabilized carbon nucleophiles has remained a challenge. In this article, we report a protocol for nickel-catalyzed hydroalkylation of dienes with hydrazones, which serve as equivalents of alkyl carbon nucleophiles. In addition, we developed a protocol for hydroalkenylation of dienes with α,β-unsaturated hydrazones, providing a new method for the synthesis of 1,4-dienes. These hydroalkylation and hydroalkenylation reactions feature mild conditions and a wide substrate scope, and the utility of the reaction products is demonstrated by the preparation of an activator of soluble guanylate cyclase.

A chiral spiro aminophosphine ligand enabled nickel-catalyzed asymmetric hydroarylation of styrenes and 1,3-dienes with arylboronic acids. The reaction was promoted by a Ni–H species generated from protonation of Ni(0) with alcohol. This reaction uses only catalytic amount reagents and provided an efficient, straightforward and mild method for preparing enantioenriched 1,1-diarylalkanes, which are important motifs for the synthesis of many biologically active molecules.

A functional group exchange reaction between allylamines and alkenes via nickel-catalyzed C—C bond cleavage and formation was developed. This reaction provides a novel protocol, which does not require the use of unstable imine substrates, for the synthesis of allylamines, which are widely used in the production of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals.

The hydrogenation of amides to amines has been developed by using the catalyst [Ru(H)2(CO)(Triphos)] (Triphos=1,1,1-tri(diphenylphosphinomethyl)ethane) and catalytic boron Lewis acids such as B(C6F5)3 or BF3⋅Et2O as additives. The reaction provides an efficient method for the preparation of secondary amines from amides in good yields with high selectivity.

The first highly enantioselective intramolecular N−H bond insertion was realized by using copper catalysts modified with chiral spirobisoxazoline ligands, which provides a novel strategy for the synthesis of chiral 2-carboxytetrahydroquinolines. This reaction features fast reaction rate, high yield, high enantioselectivity, and mild reaction conditions.

The iridium-catalyzed highly chemoselective hydrogenation of amides to amines has been developed. Using a well-defined iridium catalyst bearing a P(O)C(O)P pincer ligand combined with B(C6F5)3, the C–O cleavage products are formed under mild reaction conditions. The reaction provides a new method for the preparation of amines from amides in good yield with high selectivity.

An iridium complex with a newly prepared chiral spiro amino-phosphine ligand efficiently catalyzed the hydrogenation of both β-aryl-β-methyl-nitroalkenes and β-alkyl-β-methyl-nitroalkenes to the corresponding saturated nitroalkanes, which represents the first report of a chiral catalyst that exhibits high enantioselectivity for the challenging hydrogenation of β,β-dialkyl-nitroalkenes.

A protocol for nickel-catalyzed hydrocarboxylation of alkynes with formic acid was developed. The protocol allowed for highly efficient synthesis of acrylic acid with a TON of up to 7700.

We developed a highly regioselective addition of 1,3-dienes with simple ketones by nickel-hydride catalyst bearing DTBM-SegPhos ligand. A wide range of aromatic and aliphatic ketones directly coupled with 1,3-dienes, providing synthetically useful γ,δ-unsaturated ketones in high yield and regioselectivity. The asymmetric version of the reaction was also realized in high enantioselectivity by using novel chiral ligand DTBM-HO-BIPHEP. The utility of this hydroalkylation was demonstrated by facile product modification and enantioselective synthesis of ( R)-flobufen.

Although transition-metal-catalyzed B-H bond insertion of carbenes into stable borane adducts has emerged as a promising method for organoborane synthesis, all the diazo compounds used to date as carbene precursors have had an electron-withdrawing group to stabilize them. Herein, we report a protocol for rhodium-catalyzed B-H bond insertion reactions of unstabilized diazo compounds generated in situ from tosylhydrazones. In addition, by using chiral dirhodium catalysts, we also achieved an asymmetric version of the reaction with good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98:2 e.r.). This is the first enantioselective heteroatom-hydrogen bond insertion reaction to use unstabilized diazo compounds as carbene precursors. The protocol exhibited good functional group tolerance and could be carried out on a gram scale. It also enabled one-pot transformation of a carbonyl group to a boryl group enantioselectively. The B-H bond insertion products could be easily transformed into chiral alcohols and other widely used organoboron reagents with enantiomeric fidelity.

A highly enantioselective nickel-catalyzed intramolecular hydroalkenylation of N- or O-tethered 1,6-dienes was developed by using monodentate chiral spiro phosphoramidite ligands. The reaction provides an efficient and straightforward method for preparing very useful six-membered N- and O-heterocycles with high regioselectivity as well as excellent stereoselectivity from easily accessible starting materials under mild reaction conditions. The chiral spiro nickel catalyst developed in this study represents one of the few catalysts for highly enantioselective cyclization of unconjugated dienes.

A novel iterative protocol for the synthesis of polydeoxypropionates was developed based on iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of α-substituted acrylic acids. The catalyst loading can be as low as 0.01 mol %, and the overall yield for one iterative cycle is >76%. The reaction conditions are mild, and no organometallic reagents or chromatography steps are required. Using this protocol, (+)-phthioceranic acid and the polydeoxypropionate motifs of ionomycin and borrelidin were synthesized in high yield.

The first nickel(0)-catalyzed linear-selective hydroarylation of unactivated alkenes and styrenes with organoboronic acids are achieved under redox-neutral conditions., Herein, we describe the first linear-selective hydroarylation reaction of unactivated alkenes and styrenes with aryl boronic acids, which was achieved by introducing a directing group on the alkenes. This efficient, scalable reaction serves as a method for modular assembly of structurally diverse alkyl arenes, including γ-aryl butyric acid derivatives, which are widely utilized as chemical building blocks for the synthesis of various drugs and other biologically active compounds.

The chiral tridentate spiro P-N-S ligands (SpiroSAP) were developed, and their iridium complexes were prepared. Introduction of a 1,3-dithiane moiety into the ligand resulted in a highly efficient chiral iridium catalyst for asymmetric hydrogenation of β-alkyl-β-ketoesters, producing chiral β-alkyl-β-hydroxyesters with excellent enantioselectivities (95-99.9% ee) and turnover numbers of up to 355,000.

A palladium-catalyzed hydrocarboxylation of alkynes with formic acid has been developed. The method provides acrylic acid and derivatives in good yields with high regioselectivity without the need to handle toxic CO gas.

A new iridium catalyst containing an imine–diphosphine ligand has been developed, which showed high efficiency for the hydrogenation of CO2 to formate (yield up to 99%, TON up to 450 000). A possible catalytic mechanism is proposed, in which the imine group of the catalyst plays a key role in the cleavage of H2 and the activation of CO2.

A copper-catalyzed Mannich-type oxidative β-functionalization reaction of amines has been developed. In the presence of an oxidant and a copper catalyst, tertiary amines reacted with N-tosylimines, providing synthetically important 1,3-diamines and enamines, respectively. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggested that the oxidation of the tertiary amine to the enamine intermediate triggers subsequent Mannich-type reactions with N-tosylimines and thus enables the direct β-functionalization of the tertiary amines.

We report the first intramolecular enantioselective cyclopropanation of indoles, which was accomplished in good to high yield (up to 94%) with excellent enantioselectivity (up to >99.9% ee) by using copper or iron complexes of chiral spiro bisoxazolines as catalysts. This reaction is a straightforward, efficient method for constructing polycyclic compounds with an all-carbon quaternary stereogenic center at the 3-position of the indole skeleton, a core structure shared by numerous natural products and bioactive compounds.

This review describes recent advances in the development of chiral metal catalysts for the asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones to give chiral alcohols, important building blocks for biologically active substances such as pharmaceuticals and natural products. Chiral ruthenium–diphosphine/diamine complexes have received intensive study and many efficient chiral ruthenium catalysts bearing chiral diphosphine and diamine ligands have been developed over the past few decades. In addition, chiral ruthenium, iridium, osmium, iron, copper, and palladium complexes with various chiral ligands have also emerged as highly efficient chiral metal catalysts for the asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones. A wide range of ketones are hydrogenated using these chiral metal catalysts to give chiral alcohols with excellent enantioselectivity with high turnover numbers (TONs) and turnover frequencies (TOFs). 1 Introduction 2 Chiral Ruthenium Catalysts 3 Chiral Iridium Catalysts 4 Other Chiral Metal Catalysts 5 Conclusion and Outlook

A highly efficient iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of α-amino ketones for the synthesis of chiral 1,2-amino alcohols is described. With chiral spiro iridium catalyst Ir-( R )- 1c , a series of α-amino ketones were hydrogenated to chiral β-amino alcohols in excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99.9% ee) with TON up to 100 000. In addition, with this highly efficient method the chiral drugs ( R )-clorpenaline and ( R )-phenylephrine were prepared in very high efficiency.

An asymmetric hydrogenation of α-oxymethylcinnamic acids was developed by using chiral spiro phosphine-oxazoline/iridium complexes as catalysts to prepare β2-hydroxycarboxylic acids with high reactivity (TON up to 2000) and excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99.5% ee). By using this highly efficient asymmetric hydrogenation as a key step, a concise total synthesis of natural product homoisoflavone (S)-(+)-4 was accomplished.

A new efficient and highly enantioselective direct asymmetric hydrogenation of α-keto acids employing the Ir/SpiroPAP catalyst under mild reaction conditions has been developed. This method might be feasible for the preparation of a series of chiral α-hydroxy acids on a large scale.