Widely applicable synthesis of enantiomerically pure tertiary alkyl-containing 1-alkanols by zirconium-catalyzed asymmetric carboalumination of alkenes and palladium- or copper-catalyzed cross-coupling. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • A highly enantioselective and widely applicable method for the synthesis of various chiral 2-alkyl-1-alkanols, especially those of feeble chirality, has been developed. It consists of zirconium-catalyzed asymmetric carboalumination of alkenes (ZACA), lipase-catalyzed acetylation, and palladium- or copper-catalyzed cross-coupling. By virtue of the high selectivity factor (E) associated with iodine, either (S)- or (R)-enantiomer of 3-iodo-2-alkyl-1-alkanols (1), prepared by ZACA reaction of allyl alcohol, can be readily purified to the level of 99% ee by lipase-catalyzed acetylation. A variety of chiral tertiary alkyl-containing alcohols, including those that have been otherwise difficult to prepare, can now be synthesized in high enantiomeric purity by Pd- or Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling of (S)-1 or (R)-2 for introduction of various primary, secondary, and tertiary carbon groups with retention of all carbon skeletal features. These chiral tertiary alkyl-containing alcohols can be further converted into the corresponding acids with full retention of the stereochemistry. The synthetic utility of this method has been demonstrated in the highly enantioselective (99% ee) and efficient syntheses of (R)-2-methyl-1-butanol and (R)- and (S)-arundic acids.

published proceedings

  • Chem Asian J

altmetric score

  • 26

author list (cited authors)

  • Xu, S., Lee, C., Wang, G., & Negishi, E.

citation count

  • 25

complete list of authors

  • Xu, Shiqing||Lee, Ching-Tien||Wang, Guangwei||Negishi, Ei-ichi

publication date

  • January 2013

publisher