Phosphine-catalyzed enantioselective intramolecular [3+2] annulations to generate fused ring systems

Substantial progress has been described in the development of asymmetric variants of the phosphine-catalyzed intermolecular [3+2] annulation of allenes with alkenes; however, there have not been corresponding advances for the intramolecular process, which can generate a higher level of complexity (an additional ring and stereocenter(s)). In this study, we describe the application of chiral phosphepine catalysts to address this challenge, thereby providing access to useful scaffolds that are found in bioactive compounds, including diquinane and quinolin-2-one derivatives, with very good stereoselectivity. The products of the [3+2] annulation can be readily transformed into structures that are even more stereochemically rich. Mechanistic studies are consistent with β addition of the phosphepine to the allene being the turnover-limiting step of the catalytic cycle, followed by a concerted [3+2] cycloaddition to the pendant olefin.