Enantioselective hydrogenation with chiral frustrated Lewis Pairs

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/anie.201004525

No subsequent frustration: Frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) have been recently introduced as an unprecedented possibility to activate hydrogen. On the basis of this concept the first example of highly enantioselective catalytic hydrogenation of imines using

Full text of DOI:10.1002/anie.201004525

Angewandte
Chemie
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201004525
Asymmetric Hydrogenation
Enantioselective Hydrogenation with Chiral Frustrated Lewis Pairs**
Dianjun Chen, Yutian Wang, and Jꢀrgen Klankermayer*
Dedicated to Professor Henri Brunner on the occasion of his 75th birthday
The development of transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric
hydrogenation could be stated as the cradle of modern
enantioselective catalysis. Since the early asymmetric hydro-
genation example from Knowles and Sabacky in 1968,[1] the
method has rapidly advanced over the years into an important
tool in academia and chemical industry.[2] In general, for these
transformations the development of effective transition-metal
complexes having chiral ligands was a basic prerequisite.
However, since the pioneering work of Stephan and co-
workers in 2006,[3] the field of homogenous hydrogenation has
been extended to the possibility of metal-free hydrogenation
based on the utilization of frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) for
hydrogen activation.[4] Combinations of the strong Lewis acid
tris(perfluorophenyl)borane (B(C6F5)3) with a variety of
sterically encumbered Lewis bases—phosphines,[5] nitrogen
bases,[6] and carbon-derived bases[7]—can be used to activate
hydrogen at ambient conditions. The concept was subse-
quently broadened from variations of the Lewis base to
modifications of the Lewis acid structure, which resulted in
intramolecular FLPs[8] and borane derivatives[9] with
increased activity and stability. Furthermore, these chemical
peculiarities rapidly found application in catalytic hydro-
genation reactions. Some of the FLPs were found to serve as
catalysts for the hydrogenation of imines, nitriles, and
functionalized alkenes.[5b,6a,d,8c,9b,c,10] In the absence of bulky
Lewis bases also imine substrates could adopt the function of
the FLP partner, and B(C6F5)3 was discovered to be sufficient
as the catalyst for their hydrogenation.[6a,11] Additionally,
recent mechanistic investigations and preparative experi-
ments corroborated the assumption that for asymmetric
transformations, the element of chirality has to be favorably
incorporated into the Lewis acid structure. In early experi-
ments employing a-pinene-derived chiral borane, asymmetric
reduction of imines was achieved, albeit with low enantiose-
lectivity (13% ee).[11] With these initial findings the synthesis
of effective chiral Lewis acids for application in asymmetric
hydrogenation reactions was envisioned. On the basis of this
concept, the first example of the highly enantioselective
hydrogenation of imines with chiral FLPs is demonstrated
herein.
The initial example with a-pinene-derived chiral borane
confirmed the effectiveness of this catalyst structure. How-
ever, the stability of the Lewis acid emerged as a major
drawback.[12] For the further investigations a chiral borane
derived from camphor was considered to be a more suitable
structural motif. Reaction of (1R)-(+)-camphor (1) with
phenylmagnesium bromide (2) resulted in the tertiary alcohol
3 (Scheme 1). Subsequent dehydration with thionyl chloride/
Scheme 1. Synthesis of chiral boranes and subsequent reaction of the
FLPs with hydrogen. a) THF, 668C, 12 h; b) pyridine, SOCl2, À108C,
1 h, 78%; c) (C6F5)2BH (5), n-pentane, RT, 1 h, 99%, d) tBu3P (8), H2,
n-pentane, RT, 30 h, 53%.
[*] D. Chen, Prof. Dr. J. Klankermayer
Institut fꢀr Technische und Makromolekulare Chemie
RWTH Aachen University
Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen (Deutschland)
Fax: (+49)241-802-2177
E-mail: jklankermayer@itmc.rwth-aachen.de
pyridine provided (1R,4R)-1,7,7-trimethyl-2-phenylbicyclo-
[2.2.1]hept-2-ene (4) in 78% yield.[13] The hydroboration of
4 using bis(perfluorophenyl)borane (5)[12,14] in toluene or n-
pentane gave the diastereomeric boranes 6 and 7 in a 1:4 ratio
as confirmed by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. The
11B NMR spectra of the mixture exhibit only a broad
resonance at d = 81.8 ppm. Moreover, the chemical shift
difference between the ortho and meta F atoms of C6F5
fragments in the 19F NMR spectra [6: d = À161.1 (meta),
À149.8 (para), À132.1 (ortho), 7: À161.3 (meta), À150.5
Dr. Y. Wang
Institut fꢀr Anorganische Chemie, RWTH Aachen University
Landoltweg 1, 52074 Aachen (Deutschland)
[**] This work was performed as part of the Cluster of Excellence
“Tailormade Fuels from Biomass”, which is funded by the
Excellence Initiative by the German federal and state governments
to promote science and research at German universities.
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW
under http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201004525.
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Communications
(para), À130.8 ppm (ortho-C6F5)] suggest that neutral boron
Accordingly, the absolute configuration of the anion in 9
was assigned by single-crystal X-ray analysis as (1R, 2S, 3S,
4S; Figure 2).[16] Again, a parallel orientation of the phenyl
group and the C6F5 ring is observed, but there is a change in
the orientation of the B–H bond, indicating the possibility of
an altered chiral induction of the two isomers in an
asymmetric hydrogenation reaction. In the solid state, 9 and
centers are present.[15]
As separation of the two diastereomers 6 and 7 was not
possible at this point, partitioning of the salts formed from the
FLPs after the hydrogen splitting was investigated. Treatment
of an n-pentane solution of the borane mixture 6 and 7 with
hydrogen at 258C in the presence of tri-tert-butylphosphine
(tBu3P; 8) resulted in the precipitation of a colorless solid in
53% yield (Scheme 1). Multinuclear NMR spectroscopy
corroborated the product as a mixture of the activated FLP
salts 9 and 10 after the hydrogen splitting. Furthermore,
recrystallization in dichloromethane and n-pentane produced
single crystals consisting of 9 and 10 in a 1:1 ratio as confirmed
by X-ray analysis (see the Supporting Information),[16] and
precluded separation at this stage. However, a more detailed
investigation revealed that the FLP 6/8 led to a faster
hydrogen splitting reaction than the corresponding FLP 7/8.
This observation enabled isolation of the diastereomerically
pure compounds 9 and 10 through kinetically controlled
product formation. In the 31P NMR spectrum of compound 10
a doublet at d = 59.8 ppm with a JP-H coupling of 431 Hz is
consistent with the presence of the tri-tert-butylphosphonium
[tBu3PH]+ cation. In the 1H NMR spectrum a broad multiplet
at d = 2.87 ppm and a doublet in the 11B NMR spectrum at
d = À18.8 ppm (JB-H = 88 Hz) support the existence of a
hydridoborate anion. The 19F NMR spectrum reveals two
sets of typical C6F5 signals [d = À132.3 (ortho), À132.6
(ortho), À166.4 (para), À167.5 (para), À167.9 (meta),
À168.5 ppm (meta-C6F5)], which can be attributed to the
presence of two diastereotopic C6F5 rings. Comparable
spectral data were observed for compound 9. Single crystals
of the salt 10, suitable for X-ray structure determination, were
grown from a dichloromethane/n-pentane solution, and one
of two molecules in the asymmetric unit is shown in
Figure 1.[16] The absolute configuration of the anion in the
salt 10 was determined as bis(perfluorophenyl)-
((1R,2R,3R,4S)-4,7,7-trimethyl-3-phenylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-
2-yl)hydroborate. Interestingly, the phenyl ring in the chiral
backbone is oriented parallel to one of the C6F5 rings and is
separated by a distance of around 350 pm, thus providing the
basis for a controlled conformation which should be impor-
tant for subsequent effective catalytic applications.[17]
À
10 have multiple C H···F hydrogen-bonding interactions that
connect the phosphonium and hydridoborate moieties.[5b]
Figure 2. Crystal structure of 9. Hydrogen atoms and solvent mole-
cules were omitted for clarity—except for the hydrogen atoms bonded
to boron and phosphorus. Thermal ellipsoids are set at 50% proba-
bility.
With the chiral compounds 9 and 10 in hand, the
envisioned catalytic hydrogenation of prochiral imines was
investigated (Table 1). In the presence of 5 mol% catalyst
(1:1 mixture of 9 and 10) at 658C and 25 bar hydrogen, imine
N-(1-phenylethylidene)aniline (11a) was transformed into
the secondary amine 12a with an enantioselectivity of 20% ee
(S enantiomer; Table 1, entry 1). Using the diastereomerical-
ly pure salts (9 and 10) as catalysts for the hydrogenation of
11a gave more encouraging results. In the case of hydro-
genation using 9, full conversion into the S product was
achieved in 48% ee (Table 1, entry 2). Salt 10 led to the
R enantiomer with an even higher enantioselectivity of
79% ee (Table 1, entry 3). In addition to this, a comparison
of the measured enantioselectivities obtained with pure 9, a
1:1 mixture of 9 and 10, and pure 10 supported the assumption
that catalyst 9 was more active in the catalytic hydrogenation
than 10. Correlating this observation to the fact that hydrogen
splitting was also faster with the Lewis pair 6/8 (precursor of
9) gives significant information with respect to the rate-
determining step in the reactions using the two diastereomers.
To assess the substrate scope, a variety of substituted
imine derivatives were hydrogenated using diastereomerical-
ly pure 10 as the catalyst. Upon increasing the steric
hindrance of the substrate, the yield of the corresponding
amine decreased significantly (Table 1, entries 4 and 5). For
Figure 1. Crystal structure of 10. Hydrogen atoms and solvent mole-
cules were omitted for clarity—except for the hydrogen atoms bonded
to boron and phosphorus. Thermal ellipsoids are set at 50% proba-
bility.
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Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 9475 –9478

Angewandte
Chemie
either by HPLC methods using a chiral stationary phase column
Table 1: Hydrogenation catalyzed by chiral FLP salts.
(Chiralcel OD-H, AD-H and OJ-H) or by GC methods (Chirasil-Dex
CB).
Received: July 23, 2010
Revised: September 15, 2010
Published online: October 28, 2010
Entry[a]
Substrate
Catalyst
Yield [%][c]
ee [%][d]
1
2
3
11a
11a
11a
11b
11c
11d
11e
11 f
11g
9/10=1:1
9
>99
>99
95
37
0
96
>99
93
20 (S)
48 (S)
79 (R)
74 (À)
–
81 (À)
81 (R)
80 (À)
83 (+)
Keywords: asymmetric hydrogenation · frustrated Lewis pairs ·
homogeneous catalysis · hydrogen activation
.
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
4[b]
5[b]
6
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8
9
96
[a] Reaction conditions: Catalyst (10 mmol), imine (0.2 mmol), H2
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the imine 2-methyl-N-(1-phenylethylidene)aniline (11b), a
slightly lower enantioselectivity of 74% ee was obtained at a
conversion of only 37% (Table 1, entry 4). Upon applying the
imine 2,6-diisopropyl-N-(1-phenylethylidene)aniline (11c),
no catalyst activity could be observed. Notably, introducing
a methoxy donor group to either of the phenyl rings in the
imine gave enhanced conversion and selectivity. With either
N-(1-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethylidene)aniline (11d) or 4-
methoxy-N-(1-phenylethylidene)aniline (11e) an enantiose-
lectivity of 81% ee was obtained (Table 1, entries 6 and 7).
The hydrogenation of the 2-naphthyl imine derivative N-(1-
(naphthalen-2-yl)ethylidene)aniline (11 f) with catalyst 10
produced 12 f in 93% yield and in 80% ee (Table 1, entry 8).
Moreover, the presence of a methoxy group in 4-methoxy-N-
(1-(naphthalen-2-yl)ethylidene)aniline (11g) favored the cat-
alytic hydrogenation with a higher conversion of 96% and a
noticeable enantioselectivity of 83% ee.
In summary, stable chiral boranes that can be used in
frustrated Lewis pairs have been synthesized and employed in
hydrogen activation together with tBu3P under mild reaction
conditions. Moreover, significant enantioselectivity was
obtained for the first time using the FLP concept with these
chiral catalytic systems. The application of this system in other
catalytic reactions and detailed mechanistic investigations are
in progress and will be reported in due course.
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Experimental Section
General procedure for the catalytic metal-free hydrogenation
employing chiral FLPs: Under an argon atmosphere, imine
(0.2 mmol), salt 10 (0.01 mmol), and dry toluene (1.0 mL) were
transferred to a stainless steel autoclave. The autoclave was purged
three times with hydrogen and finally pressurized to 25 bar. The
reaction mixture was stirred at 658C for the indicated period of time.
The conversion of the substrate was determined by 1H NMR
spectroscopy of the crude reaction mixture, and the product was
purified by flash chromatography on silica gel using n-pentane/ethyl
acetate (10:1) as the eluent. The enantiomeric excess was determined
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Communications
[15] J. M. Blackwell, W. E. Piers, M. Parvez, Org. Lett. 2000, 2, 695 –
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[16] CCDC 789179 (9/10), CCDC 789181 (9), and CCDC 789180 (10)
contain the supplementary crystallographic data for this paper.
These data can be obtained free of charge from The Cambridge
Crystallographic Data Centre via www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/data_
request/cif.
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