A palladium-catalyzed enantioselective CH functionalization of indoles was achieved with an axially chiral 2,2'-bipyridine ligand, thus providing the desired indol-3-acetate derivatives with up to 98 % ee. Moreover, the reaction protocol was also effective for asymmetric OH insertion reaction of phenols using α-aryl-α-diazoacetates. This represents the first successful application of bipyridine ligands with axial chirality in palladium-catalyzed carbene migratory insertion reactions.
Keywords: asymmetric catalysis; chirality; diazo compounds; ligand design; palladium.
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