Copper-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to cyclic enones

It is no longer necessary to use dialkylzinc reagents to obtain enantioselectivities >95% in the copper-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of organometallic compounds to cyclic enones. We now report how this can be accomplished by using inexpensive and readily available Grignard reagents. Screening of bidentate ligands provided outstanding results with copper complexes of commercially available chiral ferrocenyl-based diphosphines, in particular TaniaPhos and JosiPhos derivatives. These catalysts tolerate a range of Grignard reagents and different cyclic enones as substrates, leading to high regioselectivities and unprecedented enantioselectivities. Moreover, the reactions are successful with moderate catalyst loading (5 mol %) under mild conditions and in the absence of additives.