10.1002/adsc.202000936
Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis
7e-S(1a), is 1.2 kcal mol-1. For p-nitrobenzaldehyde
(1c), this energy difference is reduced to 0.7 kcal mol-
1, consistent with the experimental observation of
reduced selectivity (i.e. entry 3 vs entry 1 in Table 4).
Examining the structures in Figure 2, the reduced
selectivity in the latter case can be explained by the
modulation of the π-stacking interaction between the
aromatic aldehyde and one of the bis-CF3-phenyl
groups of the catalyst in the (S)-TS structure. For
aldehyde 1c, the presence of a p-nitro group enhances
the stacking interaction in the (S)-TS structure, due to
the well-established substituent effects in π-stacking
interactions,[19] leading to stabilization of the
disfavored TS and reduced selectivity.
In the case of o-nitrobenzaldehyde (1b), while
computations indicate a further lowering of the
energy of the (S)-TS compared to that for (R), these
data are not consistent with the experimental
observation of reversed stereoselectivity. However,
the results do show a qualitative change in the
structure of the lowest-lying TS leading to the (R)-
alcohol along with major changes in the energetic
ordering of the possible TS structures for this reaction.
More precisely, while the lowest-lying (S)-TS
structure, TS-7e-S(1b), is similar to that found for 1a
and 1c, the most favorable TS structure leading to the
(R)-alcohol, TS-7e-R(1b), instead exhibits the same
trans-chlorine configuration as TS-7e-S(1b). The
structures for 1c analogous to those from 1a and 1c
(not shown) is 0.6 kcal mol-1 higher in energy than
TS-7e-R(1b). Overall, these results suggest that the
stereoreversal in the case of aldehyde 1b can be
attributed to the elimination of the favoured cis-
chlorine pathway leading to the (R)-alcohol that is
accessible for the other aldehydes.
Experimental Section
General procedure for asymmetric propargylation
The solution of allenyltrichlorosilane (0.71 mmol, 1.5
equiv) in 0.5 mL DCM was added to a solution of catalyst
(0.0047 mmol, 1 mol%), diisopropylethylamine (0.71
mmol, 1.5 equiv) and aldehyde (0.47 mmol) in DCM (1.5
mL) under argon at -60 °C. The mixture was stirred at the
same temperature for 8 hours and then quenched with
saturated NH4Cl solution (2mL). The aqueous layer was
extracted with Et2O (3 x 20 mL) and the combined organic
extracts were washed with brine and dried over Na2SO4.
The solvent was removed in vacuo and the residue was
purified by flash chromatography on silica gel with a
petroleum ether–ethyl acetate mixture 9:1. The
enantiopurity of the resulting alcohols was determined by
GC or HPLC with a chiral sorbents. The absolute
configurations were assigned by comparing optical rotation
values to the literature.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Russian Science Foundation Grant
18-73-10156 (Chemical part) and National Science Foundation
Grant CHE-1665407 (Computational part). YF thanks the
Japanese Government and the Loughborough University for a
studentship. Portions of this work were conducted using high
performance computing resources provided by the Georgia
Advanced Computing Resource Center (http://gacrc.uga.edu).
Molecular structure figures were generated using the SEQCROW
plugin[20] for ChimeraX.[21]
References
[1] C. H. Ding, X. L. Hou, Chem. Rev. 2011, 111, 1914-
1937.
[2] a) L. M. Geary, S. K. Woo, J. C. Leung, M. J. Krische,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 2972-2976; b) K. D.
Nguyen, D. Herkommer, M. J. Krische, J. Am. Chem.
Soc. 2016, 138, 5238-5241; c) Y. Yang, I. B. Perry, G.
Lu, P. Liu, S. L. Buchwald, Science 2016, 353, 144-
150; d) B. R. Ambler, S. K. Woo, M. J. Krische,
ChemCatChem 2019, 11, 324-332.
Conclusion
Guided by previously reported computational
predictions,[14b] a set of atropisomeric bipyridine
N,N’-dioxides 7a-7j were synthesized and tested as
Lewis base catalysts for the asymmetric
propargylation
of
aldehydes
with
trichloroallenylsilane. The catalysts are easy to
prepare in four simple steps starting from methyl
ketones readily available from commercial sources.
Aryl-substituted derivatives proved to be highly
active and showed high level of enantiocontrol;
catalyst 7e was identified as the most efficient,
retaining high reactivity even at 1 mol% loading.
Computations confirm that the key stereodetermining
TS structures for this and other highly active and
selective catalysts are nearly identical in most cases
to those previously reported for catalyst 6a.[14b] The
reaction scope includes a wide range of aromatic,
heteroaromatic and unsaturated aldehydes, whereas
aliphatic aldehydes proved to be challenging
substrates.
[3] T. Thaima, F. Zamani, C. J. T. Hyland, S. G. Pyne,
Synthesis 2017, 49, 1461-1480.
[4] a) M. Z. Wang, S. Khan, E. Miliordos, M. Chen, Org.
Lett. 2018, 20, 3810-3814; b) A. S. Tsai, M. Chen, W.
R. Roush, Org. Lett. 2013, 15, 1568-1571; c) H. Wang,
P. Jain, J. C. Antilla, K. N. Houk, J. Org. Chem. 2013,
78, 1208-1215; d) M. Chen, W. R. Roush, J. Am. Chem.
Soc. 2012, 134, 10947-10952; e) L. R. Reddy, Org. Lett.
2012, 14, 1142-1145; f) P. Jain, H. Wang, K. N. Houk,
J. C. Antilla, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 1391-
1394; g) R. Haruta, M. Ishiguro, N. Ikeda, H.
Yamamoto, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1982, 104, 7667-7669;
h) N. Ikeda, I. Arai, H. Yamamoto, J. Am. Chem. Soc.
1986, 108, 483-486; i) C. Q. Lai, J. A. Soderquist, Org.
Lett. 2005, 7, 799-802.
[5] a) J. Zhao, S. J. T. Jonker, D. N. Meyer, G. Schulz, C.
D. Tran, L. Eriksson, K. J. Szabo, Chem. Sci. 2018, 9,
6
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.