Enantioselective organocatalytic synthesis of axially chiral aldehyde-containing styrenes via SNAr reaction-guided dynamic kinetic resolution

Abstract The precise and efficient construction of axially chiral scaffolds, particularly toward the aryl-alkene atropoisomers with impeccably full enantiocontrol and highly structural diversity, remains greatly challenging. Herein, we disclose an organocatalytic asymmetric nucleophilic aromatic sub...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fengyuan Guo, Siqiang Fang, Jiajia He, Zhishan Su, Tianli Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2023-08-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40840-7
Description
Summary:Abstract The precise and efficient construction of axially chiral scaffolds, particularly toward the aryl-alkene atropoisomers with impeccably full enantiocontrol and highly structural diversity, remains greatly challenging. Herein, we disclose an organocatalytic asymmetric nucleophilic aromatic substitution (SNAr) reaction of aldehyde-substituted styrenes involving a dynamic kinetic resolution process via a hemiacetal intermediate, offering a novel and facile way to significant axial styrene scaffolds. Upon treatment of the aldehyde-containing styrenes bearing (o-hydroxyl)aryl unit with commonly available fluoroarenes in the presence of chiral peptide-phosphonium salts, the SNAr reaction via an exquisite bridged biaryl lactol intermediate undergoes smoothly to furnish a series of axially chiral aldehyde-containing styrenes decorated with various functionalities and bioactive fragments in high stereoselectivities (up to >99% ee) and complete E/Z selectivities. These resulting structural motifs are important building blocks for the preparation of diverse functionalized axial styrenes, which have great potential as efficient and privileged chiral ligands/catalysts in asymmetric synthesis.
ISSN:2041-1723