We report the first intramolecular enantioselective cyclopropanation of indoles, which was accomplished in good to high yield (up to 94%) with excellent enantioselectivity (up to >99.9% ee) by using copper or iron complexes of chiral spiro bisoxazolines as catalysts. This reaction is a straightforward, efficient method for constructing polycyclic compounds with an all-carbon quaternary stereogenic center at the 3-position of the indole skeleton, a core structure shared by numerous natural products and bioactive compounds.

ConspectusChiral carboxylic acid moieties are widely found in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, flavors, fragrances, and health supplements. Although they can be synthesized straightforwardly by transition-metal-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of unsaturated carboxylic acids, because the existing chiral catalysts have various disadvantages, the development of new chiral catalysts with high activity and enantioselectivity is an important, long-standing challenge. Ruthenium complexes with chiral diphosphine ligands and rhodium complexes with chiral monodentate or bidentate phosphorus ligands have been the predominant catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation of unsaturated acids. However, the efficiency of these catalysts is highly substrate-dependent, and most of the reported catalysts require a high loading, high hydrogen pressure, or long reaction time for satisfactory results.Our recent studies have revealed that chiral iridium complexes with chiral spiro-phosphine-oxazoline ligands and chiral spiro-phosphine-benzylamine ligands exhibit excellent activity and enantioselectivity in the hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids, including α,β-disubstituted acrylic acids, trisubstituted acrylic acids, α-substituted acrylic acids, and heterocyclic α,β-unsaturated acids. On the basis of an understanding of the role of the carboxy group in iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation reactions, we developed a carboxy-group-directed strategy for asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins. Using this strategy, we hydrogenated several challenging olefin substrates, such as β,γ-unsaturated carboxylic acids, 1,1-diarylethenes, 1,1-dialkylethenes, and 1-alkyl styrenes in high yield and with excellent enantioselectivity. All these iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation reactions feature high turnover numbers (up to 10000) and turnover frequencies (up to 6000 h–1), excellent enantioselectivities (greater than 95% ee with few exceptions), low hydrogen pressure (<12 atm), and operational simplicity. These features make chiral iridium catalysts superior or comparable to well-established chiral ruthenium and rhodium catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation of unsaturated carboxylic acids. A number of chiral natural products and pharmaceuticals have been prepared by concise routes involving an iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of an unsaturated carboxylic acid as a key step.As part of a mechanistic study of iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of unsaturated acids, we isolated, for the first time, the migratory insertion intermediate in the iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins, and this result strongly supports the involvement of an Ir(III)/Ir(V) catalytic cycle. The rigid, bulky scaffold of the chiral spiro-P,N-ligands of the catalysts not only prevents them from undergoing deactivating aggregation under the hydrogenation conditions but also is responsible for the efficient chiral induction. The carboxy group of the substrate acts as an anchor to ensure coordination of the substrate to the iridium center of the catalyst during the reaction and makes the hydrogenation proceed smoothly.

Enantioselective control of the chirality of a tertiary α-carbon in the products of a Nazarov cyclization of enones is challenging because the reaction involves an enantioselective proton transfer process. We herein report the use of cooperative catalysis using Lewis acids and chiral Brønsted acids to control the stereochemistry of the tertiary α-carbon in the products of this reaction. Specifically, with ZnCl2 and a chiral spiro phosphoric acid as catalysts, we realized the first enantioselective construction of cyclopenta[b]indoles with chiral tertiary α-carbons via Nazarov cyclization of indole enone substrates with only one coordinating site. Mechanistic studies revealed that the chiral spiro phosphoric acid acts as a multifunctional catalyst: it co-catalyzes the cyclization of the dienone and enantioselectively catalyzes a proton transfer reaction of the enol intermediate. This new strategy of enantioselective control by means of cooperative catalysis may show utility for other challenging asymmetric cyclization reactions.

We developed neutral iridium catalysts with chiral spiro phosphine-carboxy ligands (SpiroCAP) for asymmetric hydrogenation of unsaturated carboxylic acids. Different from the cationic Crabtree-type catalysts, the iridium catalysts with chiral spiro phosphine-carboxy ligands are neutral and do not require the use of a tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate (BArF−) counterion, which is necessary for stabilizing cationic Crabtree-type catalysts. Another advantage of the neutral iridium catalysts is that they have high stability and have a long lifetime in air. The new iridium catalysts with chiral spiro phosphine-carboxy ligands exhibit unprecedented high enantioselectivity (up to 99.4% ee) in the asymmetric hydrogenations of various unsaturated carboxylic acids, particularly for 3-alkyl-3-methylenepropionic acids, which are challenging substrates for other chiral catalysts.

The Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins is widely used for production of value-added bulk and fine chemicals. The iridium catalysts with chiral spiro phosphine-oxazoline ligands developed in our group show high activity and high enantioselectivity in the hydrogenation of olefins bearing a coordinative carboxyl group, such as α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids, β,γ-unsaturated carboxylic acids, and γ,δ-unsaturated carboxylic acids. Here we conducted detailed mechanistic studies on these Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation reactions by using (E)-2-methyl-3-phenylacrylic acid as a model substrate. We isolated and characterized several key intermediates having Ir–H bonds under the real hydrogenation conditions. Particularly, an Ir(III) migratory insertion intermediate was first isolated in an asymmetric hydrogenation reaction promoted by chiral Ir catalysts. That this intermediate cannot undergo reductive elimination in the absence of hydrogen strongly supports the involvement of an Ir(III)/Ir(V) cycle in the hydrogenation. On the basis of the structure of the Ir(III) intermediate, variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations, we elucidated the mechanistic details of the Ir-catalyzed hydrogenation of unsaturated carboxylic acids and explained the enantioselectivity of the reactions. These findings experimentally and computationally elucidate the mechanism of Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins with a strong coordinative carboxyl group and will likely inspire further catalyst design.

A new highly enantioselective route to α-alkenyl α-amino acid derivatives, which are important naturally occurring compounds with attractive bioactivity and synthetic utility, was developed using a N–H insertion reaction of vinyldiazoacetates and tert-butyl carbamate cooperatively catalyzed by achiral dirhodium(II) carboxylates and chiral spiro phosphoric acids under mild, neutral conditions. This reaction has a broad substrate scope, a fast reaction rate (turnover frequency > 6000 h−1), a high yield (61–99%), and excellent enantioselectivity (83–98% ee). The chiral spiro phosphoric acid, which is proposed to realize the enantioselectivity of the insertion reaction by promoting the proton transfer of a ylide intermediate by acting as a chiral proton shuttle catalyst, can suppress several usual side reactions of vinyldiazoacetates and broaden the applications of these versatile carbene precursors in organic synthesis. To our knowledge, it is the first highly enantioselective carbene insertion reaction of vinyldiazoacetates with heteroatom–hydrogen bonds in which the heteroatom has lone-pair electrons.

An iridium complex with a newly prepared chiral spiro amino-phosphine ligand efficiently catalyzed the hydrogenation of both β-aryl-β-methyl-nitroalkenes and β-alkyl-β-methyl-nitroalkenes to the corresponding saturated nitroalkanes, which represents the first report of a chiral catalyst that exhibits high enantioselectivity for the challenging hydrogenation of β,β-dialkyl-nitroalkenes.

An iron-catalyzed arylation of α-aryl-α-diazoesters with electron-rich benzene rings was developed, which provides an efficient method for the preparation of 1,1-diarylacetates with high yields and excellent chemo- and regio-selectivities.

The asymmetric arylation of diazo compounds with aniline derivatives cooperatively catalyzed by an achiral dirhodium complex and a chiral spiro phosphoric acid is reported. The reaction provides a new method for the facile synthesis of α-diarylacetates, versatile building blocks with a diaryl tertiary chiral center, in good yields (up to 95%) with high enantioselectivities (up to 97% ee). Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest that the arylation reaction proceeds via a stepwise process, in which the enantioselectivity is controlled by a chiral spiro phosphoric acid-promoted proton shift in a zwitterionic intermediate. This work represents the first asymmetric intermolecular C(sp2)–H bond insertion reaction with arenes.

A highly efficient asymmetric hydrogenation of cyclic imines containing a pyridyl moiety was established by using iridium catalysts with chiral spiro phosphine-oxazoline ligands. This process will facilitate the development of new nicotine-related pharmaceuticals. The introduction of a substituent at the ortho position of the pyridyl ring to reduce its coordinating ability ensures the success of the hydrogenation and excellent enantioselectivity.

The first highly enantioselective S–H bond insertion reaction was developed by cooperative catalysis of dirhodium(II) carboxylates and chiral spiro phosphoric acids (SPAs) under mild and neutral reaction conditions with fast reaction rates, high yields (77–97% yields), and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee). The catalytic S–H bond insertion reaction provides a highly efficient method for the synthesis of chiral sulfur-containing compounds and advances the synthesis of a chiral sulfur-containing drug (S)-Eflucimibe. A systematic 31P NMR study revealed that no ligand exchange between dirhodium(II) carboxylates and SPAs occurred in the reaction. The distinct behaviors of cooperative catalysts Rh2(TPA)4/(R)-1a and the prepared complex Rh2(R-1a)4 observed by in situ FT-IR spectroscopy excluded the feasibility of Rh2(R-SPA)4 being the real catalyst. DFT calculations showed that the activation barrier in the proton shift step became remarkably low as promoted by SPAs. Based on the experimental results and the calculations, the SPA was proposed as a chiral proton shuttle for the proton shift in reaction. Additionally, the single crystal structures of several SPAs were measured and used to rationalize the configurations of the S–H insertion products obtained in the reactions. The rigid and crowded environment around the SPAs ensures the high enantioselectivity in the S–H bond insertion reaction.

A copper-catalyzed B–H bond insertion reaction with amine– and phosphine–borane adducts was realized with high yield and enantioselectivity under mild reaction conditions. The B–H bond insertion reaction provides a new C–B bond-forming methodology and an efficient approach to chiral organoboron compounds.

A copper-catalyzed asymmetric allylic oxidation of acyclic olefins has been developed. By using the complexes of copper and chiral spiro bisoxazoline ligands as catalysts, the oxidation of various acyclic olefins was accomplished with excellent regioselectivity (>20:1 in most cases) and up to 67% ee under mild reaction conditions, which represents one of the best results for the enantioselective allylic oxidation of acyclic olefins.

A new method was developed for in situ generation of active Fe catalysts for the hydrogenation of olefins from bench-stable Fe(II) complexes and easily accessible LiAlH4. This method makes the hydrogenation very easy to handle and enables the development of several new Fe catalysts for olefin hydrogenation through practical ligand evaluation. One of the Fe catalysts derived from a Fe complex of a phosphine-bipyridine ligand exhibited unprecedented activity for the hydrogenation of olefins, with turnover numbers up to 10000 and turnover frequencies up to 37740 h−1. The NMR studies of the active Fe catalyst showed that a Fe-hydride species stabilized by Al might be a real catalyst.

A new highly enantioselective route to α-alkenyl α-amino acid derivatives, which are important naturally occurring compounds with attractive bioactivity and synthetic utility, was developed using a N–H insertion reaction of vinyldiazoacetates and tert-butyl carbamate cooperatively catalyzed by achiral dirhodium(II) carboxylates and chiral spiro phosphoric acids under mild, neutral conditions. This reaction has a broad substrate scope, a fast reaction rate (turnover frequency > 6000 h−1), a high yield (61–99%), and excellent enantioselectivity (83–98% ee). The chiral spiro phosphoric acid, which is proposed to realize the enantioselectivity of the insertion reaction by promoting the proton transfer of a ylide intermediate by acting as a chiral proton shuttle catalyst, can suppress several usual side reactions of vinyldiazoacetates and broaden the applications of these versatile carbene precursors in organic synthesis. To our knowledge, it is the first highly enantioselective carbene insertion reaction of vinyldiazoacetates with heteroatom–hydrogen bonds in which the heteroatom has lone-pair electrons.

The first highly enantioselective S–H bond insertion reaction was developed by cooperative catalysis of dirhodium(II) carboxylates and chiral spiro phosphoric acids (SPAs) under mild and neutral reaction conditions with fast reaction rates, high yields (77–97% yields), and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee). The catalytic S–H bond insertion reaction provides a highly efficient method for the synthesis of chiral sulfur-containing compounds and advances the synthesis of a chiral sulfur-containing drug (S)-Eflucimibe. A systematic 31P NMR study revealed that no ligand exchange between dirhodium(II) carboxylates and SPAs occurred in the reaction. The distinct behaviors of cooperative catalysts Rh2(TPA)4/(R)-1a and the prepared complex Rh2(R-1a)4 observed by in situ FT-IR spectroscopy excluded the feasibility of Rh2(R-SPA)4 being the real catalyst. DFT calculations showed that the activation barrier in the proton shift step became remarkably low as promoted by SPAs. Based on the experimental results and the calculations, the SPA was proposed as a chiral proton shuttle for the proton shift in reaction. Additionally, the single crystal structures of several SPAs were measured and used to rationalize the configurations of the S–H insertion products obtained in the reactions. The rigid and crowded environment around the SPAs ensures the high enantioselectivity in the S–H bond insertion reaction.

An iron-catalyzed arylation of α-aryl-α-diazoesters with electron-rich benzene rings was developed, which provides an efficient method for the preparation of 1,1-diarylacetates with high yields and excellent chemo- and regio-selectivities.

An iridium complex with a newly prepared chiral spiro amino-phosphine ligand efficiently catalyzed the hydrogenation of both β-aryl-β-methyl-nitroalkenes and β-alkyl-β-methyl-nitroalkenes to the corresponding saturated nitroalkanes, which represents the first report of a chiral catalyst that exhibits high enantioselectivity for the challenging hydrogenation of β,β-dialkyl-nitroalkenes.

We developed neutral iridium catalysts with chiral spiro phosphine-carboxy ligands (SpiroCAP) for asymmetric hydrogenation of unsaturated carboxylic acids. Different from the cationic Crabtree-type catalysts, the iridium catalysts with chiral spiro phosphine-carboxy ligands are neutral and do not require the use of a tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate (BArF−) counterion, which is necessary for stabilizing cationic Crabtree-type catalysts. Another advantage of the neutral iridium catalysts is that they have high stability and have a long lifetime in air. The new iridium catalysts with chiral spiro phosphine-carboxy ligands exhibit unprecedented high enantioselectivity (up to 99.4% ee) in the asymmetric hydrogenations of various unsaturated carboxylic acids, particularly for 3-alkyl-3-methylenepropionic acids, which are challenging substrates for other chiral catalysts.