NHC Ligands Tailored for Simultaneous Regio- and Enantiocontrol in Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Couplings

An exceptionally hindered class of enantiopure NHC ligands has been developed. While racemic forms had previously been utilized, a scalable and practical route to the enantiopure form of this ligand class is described utilizing a Buchwald-Hartwig N,N-diarylation in a highly sterically demanding environment. Using this newly accessible ligand class, nickel-catalyzed enantioselective reductive coupling reactions of aldehydes and alkynes have been developed. These studies illustrate that the newly available NHC ligands are well suited for simultaneous control of regio- and enantioselectivity, even in cases with internal alkynes possessing only very subtle steric differences between two aliphatic substituents. The steric demand of the new ligand class enables a complementary regiochemical outcome compared with previously described enantioselective processes. Using this method, a number of allylic alcohol derivatives were efficiently obtained with high regioselectivity (up to >95:5) and high enantioselectivity (up to 94% ee). The reaction conditions can also be extended to the reaction of aldehydes and allenes, providing silyl-protected allylic alcohol derivatives possessing a terminal methylene substituent. Computational studies have explained the origin of the exceptional steric demand of this ligand class, the basis for enantioselectivity, and the cooperative relationship of the aldehyde, alkyne, and ligand in influencing enantioselectivity.