Ir-Catalyzed Regio- and Enantioselective Hydroalkynylation of Trisubstituted Alkene to Access All-Carbon Quaternary Stereocenters

J Am Chem Soc. 2021 Jun 30;143(25):9639-9647. doi: 10.1021/jacs.1c04493. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

Abstract

The stereoselective construction of all-carbon quaternary stereocenters, especially acyclic ones, represents an important challenge in organic synthesis. In particular, homopropargyl amides with a quaternary stereocenter β to a nitrogen atom are valuable synthetic intermediates, which could be transformed to diverse chiral structures through alkyne transformations. However, highly enantioselective synthetic methods for homopropargyl amides with a β quaternary stereocenter are extremely rare. We report here unprecedented substrate-directed, iridium-catalyzed enantioselective hydroalkynylations of trisubstituted alkenes to form an acyclic all-carbon quaternary stereocenter β to a nitrogen atom. The hydroalkynylation of enamide occurred with unconventional selectivity, favoring the more hindered reaction site. Homopropargyl amides with β-stereocenters were prepared in high regio- and enantioselectivities. Combined experimental and computational studies revealed the origin of the regio- and enantioselectivities.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't