Angewandte
Communications
Chemie
Photochemistry
Asymmetric Photocatalysis by Intramolecular Hydrogen-Atom
Transfer in Photoexcited Catalyst–Substrate Complex
Chenhao Zhang+, Shuming Chen+, Chen-Xi Ye, Klaus Harms, Lilu Zhang, K. N. Houk,* and
Abstract:
3-(2-Formylphenyl)-1-pyrazol-1-yl-propenones
undergo an asymmetric photorearrangement to benzo-
[d]cyclopropa[b]pyranones with up to > 99% ee, which is
catalyzed by a bis-cyclometalated rhodium catalyst in the
presence of visible light. Mechanistic experiments and DFT
calculations support a mechanism in which a photoexcited
catalyst/substrate complex triggers an intramolecular hydro-
gen-atom transfer followed by a highly stereocontrolled hetero-
Diels–Alder reaction. In this reaction scheme, the rhodium
catalyst fulfills multiple functions by 1) enabling visible-light
p!p* excitation of the catalyst-bound enone substrate,
2) facilitating the hydrogen-atom transfer, and 3) providing
the asymmetric induction for the hetero-Diels–Alder reaction.
P
hotochemistry provides new synthetic and mechanistic
opportunities for asymmetric catalysis.[1] For example, visible
light has been used as a convenient and mild source of energy
to generate free radicals, which are then interfaced with an
asymmetric catalysis cycle.[2] In such systems, the photo-
chemistry is not part of the catalytic cycle and often serves as
an inducer of a thermal chain process. This role is distinct
from mechanistic scenarios in which the photoexcited state is
directly embedded within an asymmetric catalysis cycle,
thereby opening untapped opportunities for exploiting the
special reactivity of photoexcited states in the context of
asymmetric catalysis.[3]
Figure 1. Photoinduced asymmetric catalysis cycle in which visible-
light-photoexcited catalyst/substrate complexes are key intermediates.
ble of undergoing stereocontrolled chemical transformations,
either through an initial outersphere electron transfer or by
engaging in direct stereocontrolled bond-forming reactions
(Figure 1).[5] The realization of new reaction modes of
photoexcited catalyst/substrate complexes is highly desirable
for developing visible-light-activated asymmetric conversions
that are otherwise elusive.
Our group recently demonstrated that bis-cyclometalated
iridium(III) and especially rhodium(III) complexes are
exquisite catalysts for realizing visible-light-activated asym-
metric catalysis.[4,5] Upon binding to a substrate and under-
going selective visible-light activation of the formed catalyst/
substrate complexes, such photoexcited assemblies are capa-
Here we report a unique example of a visible-light-
activated catalyst/substrate complex engaging in a hydrogen-
atom transfer (HAT) reaction to generate a catalyst-bound
reactive intermediate, which is then primed to undergo
a highly stereocontrolled intramolecular hetero-Diels–Alder
reaction.
We previously found that upon binding to bis-cyclometa-
lated rhodium catalysts, a,b-unsaturated N-acyl pyrazoles can
undergo p!p* excitation under visible light. We further
demonstrated that these ligand-centered excited states can
perform stereocontrolled cycloaddition reactions.[3d,f,6] At the
onset of this study we were speculating that such photoexcited
catalyst-bound enones might instead be capable of engaging
in HAT reactions to generate catalyst-bound reactive inter-
mediates followed by stereocontrolled transformations. We
were inspired by a reaction reported by Xia and co-workers in
which (E)-ethyl 3-(2-formylphenyl)acrylate (1a), upon pho-
tolysis with a 500 W high-pressure mercury lamp, underwent
an interesting rearrangement to the cyclopropane 2a
(Table 1, entry 1), and this reaction was proposed to proceed
through an intramolecular HAT from the aldehyde to the
triplet excited state of the enone.[7] As major drawbacks, the
reaction required intense UV light and provided the product
[*] C. Zhang,[+] C.-X. Ye, Dr. K. Harms, Dr. L. Zhang, Prof. Dr. E. Meggers
Fachbereich Chemie, Philipps-Universität Marburg
Hans-Meerwein-Straß e 4, 35043 Marburg (Germany)
E-mail: meggers@chemie.uni-marburg.de
Dr. S. Chen,[+] Prof. Dr. K. N. Houk
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1569 (USA)
E-mail: houk@chem.ucla.edu
[+] These authors contributed equally to this work.
Supporting information and the ORCID identification number(s) for
the author(s) of this article can be found under:
ꢀ 2019 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co.
KGaA. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
14462
ꢀ 2019 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2019, 58, 14462 –14466