Unlocking Chiral Sulfinimidoyl Electrophiles: Asymmetric Synthesis of Sulfinamides Catalyzed by Anionic Stereogenic-at-Cobalt(III) Complexes.

Asymmetric catalysis involving a sulfoxide electrophile intermediate presents an efficient methodology for accessing stereogenic-at-sulfur compounds, such as sulfinate esters, sulfinamides, , which have garnered increasing attention in modern pharmaceutical sciences. However, as the aza-analog of sulfoxide electrophiles, the asymmetric issues about electrophilic sulfinimidoyl species remain largely unexplored and represent a significant challenge in sulfur stereochemistry. Herein, we exhibit an anionic stereogenic-at-cobalt(III) complex-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of chiral sulfinamides via chiral sulfinimidoyl iodide intermediates.

Asymmetric S-Arylation of Sulfenamides to Access Axially Chiral Sulfilimines Enabled by Anionic Stereogenic-at-Cobalt(III) Complexes.

An efficient enantioselective coupling reaction between sulfenamides and cyclic diaryliodonium salts is established via adaptive Cu/anionic stereogenic-at-Co(III) complex combined catalysis, precisely synthesizing a broad range of axially chiral sulfilimines with excellent enantioselectivities, diastereoselectivities, regioselectivities, and chemoselectivities (67 examples under same conditions, up to 98 % ee). The following thermodynamically controlled pyramidal inversion enables efficient stereodivegent synthesis of all four stereoisomers. Mechanistic studies suggest that anionic stereogenic-at-cobalt(III) complexes serve as counteranions of diaryliodonium and anionic ligand of Cu(I) catalyst simultaneously, which could be regarded as an explanation for outstanding selectivities.

Merging Visible-Light Photoredox and Chiral Phosphate Catalysis for Asymmetric Friedel-Crafts Reaction with in Situ Generation of N-Acyl Imines.

In the presence of visible-light photoredox and chiral phosphate catalysts, a novel asymmetric Friedel-Crafts reaction of indoles and readily accessible α-amino acid derived redox-active esters is established to afford enantioenriched 1-indolyl-1-alkylamine derivatives in moderate to high yields and with high levels of enantioselectivities. This method not only shows a mild and efficient alternative for the in situ generation of N-acyl imines but also indicates the feasibility of a multicatalyst system for asymmetric photoredox catalysis.

Access to Chiral Hydropyrimidines through Palladium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Allylic C-H Amination.

A palladium-catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular allylic C-H amination controlled by a chiral phosphoramidite ligand was established for the preparation of various substituted chiral hydropyrimidinones, the precursors of hydropyrimidines, in high yields with high enantioselectivities. In particular, dienyl sodium N-sulfonyl amides bearing an arylethene-1-sulfonyl group underwent a sequential allylic C-H amination and intramolecular Diels-Alder (IMDA) reaction to produce chiral fused tricyclic tetrahydropyrimidinone frameworks in high yields and with high levels of stereoselectivity. Significantly, this method was used as the key step in an asymmetric synthesis of letermovir.