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A novel chiral 1,5‐N,N‐bidentate ligand based on a spirocyclic pyrrolidine oxazoline backbone was designed and prepared, and it coordinates CuBr in situ to form an unprecedented catalyst that enables efficient oxidative cross‐coupling of 2‐naphthols. Air serves as an external oxidant and generates a series of C1‐symmetric chiral BINOL derivatives with high enantioselectivity (up to 99 % ee) and good yield (up to 87 %). This approach is tolerant of a broader substrates scope, particularly substrates bearing various 3‐ and 3′‐substituents. A preliminary investigation using one of the obtained C1‐symmetric BINOL products was used as an organocatalyst, exhibiting better enantioselectivity than the previously reported organocatalyst, for the asymmetric α‐alkylation of amino esters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient approach toward the 3/6/6/5-fused tetracyclic skeleton of tenuipesine A has been accomplished. The strategy featured 1) a tandem Mitsunobu and 3,3-rearrangement reaction yielding the key intermediate 7 with two adjacent all-carbon quaternary centers with high d.r.; and 2) a tandem DBDMH-mediated semipinacol rearrangement via a 1,2-oxygen migration of an allylic hemiketal to construct the highly substituted tetrahydropyran ring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An asymmetric [3+2] cycloaddition of quinone esters with 2,3-dihydrofuran has been realized via a newly developed Cu(II)/SPDO complex. It provides straightforward access to 2,3,3a,8a-tetrahydrofuro[2,3- b ]benzofurans (TFB) with high enantioselectivity (up to 97.5:2.5 er) and diastereoselectivity (all >20:1 dr). The resulting adducts contain two adjacent stereocenters and a continuously functionalized benzene ring. Additionally, this transformation could be easily performed on a gram scale, allowing for expedient synthesis of natural dihydroaflatoxin D 2 and aflatoxin B 2 .

An asymmetric intramolecular hydroalkylation of unactivated internal olefins with tethered cyclic ketones was realized by the cooperative catalysis of a newly designed chiral amine (SPD-NH 2 ) and Pd II complex, providing straightforward access to either bridged or fused bicyclic systems containing three stereogenic centers with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99 % ee) and diastereoselectivity (up to >20 : 1 dr). Notably, the bicyclic products could be conveniently transformed into a diverse range of key structures frequently found in bioactive terpenes, such as Δ 6 -protoilludene, cracroson D, and vulgarisins. The steric hindrance between the Ar group of the SPD-NH 2 catalyst and the branched chain of the substrate, hydrogen-bonding interactions between the N-H of the enamine motif and the C=O of the directing group MQ, and the counterion of the Pd II complex were identified as key factors for excellent stereoinduction in this dual catalytic process by density functional theory calculations., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

A challenging direct asymmetric catalytic aerobic oxidative cross-coupling of 2-naphthylamine and 2-naphthol, using a novel Cu I /SPDO system, has been successfully developed for the first time. Enantioenriched 3,3'-disubstituted NOBINs were achieved and could be readily derived to divergent chiral ligands and catalysts. This reaction features high enantioselectivities (up to 96 % ee) and good yields (up to 80 %). The DFT calculations suggest that the F-H interactions between CF 3 of L17 and H-1,8 of 2-naphthol, and the π-π stacking between the two coupling partners could play vital roles in the enantiocontrol of this cross-coupling reaction., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The catalytic asymmetric total syntheses of the biologically important and therapeutically valuable Amaryllidaceae alkaloids (-)-galanthamine and (-)-lycoramine have been divergently achieved from commercially available 3-butyn-1-ol. A newly developed spirocyclic pyrrolidine (SPD)-catalyzed enantioselective Robinson annulation rapidly constructs the key cis -hydrodibenzofuran core, which bears an all-carbon quaternary stereocenter of the target molecules with an excellent stereoselective control. Additionally, the current asymmetric synthetic strategy provides an alternative approach toward the syntheses of (-)-galanthamine and its analogues.

An enantioselective sulfenylation/semipinacol rearrangement of 1,1-disubstituted and trisubstituted allylic alcohols was accomplished with a chiral Lewis base and a chiral Brønsted acid as cocatalysts, generating various β-arylthio ketones bearing an all-carbon quaternary center in moderate to excellent yields and excellent enantioselectivities. These chiral arylthio ketone products are common intermediates with many applications, for example, in the design of new chiral catalysts/ligands and the total synthesis of natural products. Computational studies (DFT calculations) were carried out to explain the enantioselectivity and the role of the chiral Brønsted acid. Additionally, the synthetic utility of this method was exemplified by an enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-herbertene and a one-pot synthesis of a chiral sulfoxide and sulfone., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A novel chiral 1,5-N,N-bidentate ligand based on a spirocyclic pyrrolidine oxazoline backbone was designed and prepared, and it coordinates CuBr in situ to form an unprecedented catalyst that enables efficient oxidative cross-coupling of 2-naphthols. Air serves as an external oxidant and generates a series of C 1 -symmetric chiral BINOL derivatives with high enantioselectivity (up to 99 % ee) and good yield (up to 87 %). This approach is tolerant of a broader substrates scope, particularly substrates bearing various 3- and 3'-substituents. A preliminary investigation using one of the obtained C 1 -symmetric BINOL products was used as an organocatalyst, exhibiting better enantioselectivity than the previously reported organocatalyst, for the asymmetric α-alkylation of amino esters., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A novel chiral spirocyclic amide (SPA)-derived triazolium organocatalyst has been designed and demonstrated to effect asymmetric homo- and heterodialkylations of various bisoxindoles, enabling enantioselective construction of vicinal all-carbon quaternary stereocenters. These reactions feature excellent enantio- and diastereoselectivities (up to 99% ee and >20:1 dr) as well as good to high yields (up to 89% over two steps). As an application of this methodology, the first asymmetric total synthesis of (-)-chimonanthidine has been achieved.