Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.143, No.9, 3289-3294, 2021
Enantioselective alpha-Arylation of Ketones via a Novel Cu(I)-Bis(phosphine) Dioxide Catalytic System
A novel catalytic system based on copper(I) and chiral bis(phosphine) dioxides is described. This allows the arylation of silyl enol ethers to access enolizable alpha-arylated ketones in good yields and enantiomeric excess up to 95%. Noncyclic ketones are amenable substrates with this method, which complements other approaches based on palladium catalysis. Optimization of the ligand structure is accomplished via rational design driven by correlation analysis. Preliminary mechanistic hypotheses are also evaluated in order to identify the role of chiral bis(phosphine) dioxides.