Cobalt-Catalyzed Chemo- and Enantioselective Hydrogenation of Conjugated Enynes
Yanhua Hu1, Zhenfeng Zhang2, Yangang Liu1,2
1Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, Frontier Science Center for Transformative Molecules, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Abstract:
Asymmetric hydrogenation is one of the most powerful methods for the preparation of single enantiomer compounds. However, the chemo- and enantioselective hydrogenation of the relatively inert unsaturated group in substrates possessing multiple unsaturated bonds remains a challenge. We herein report a protocol for the highly chemo- and enantioselective hydrogenation of conjugated enynes while keeping the alkynyl bond intact. Mechanism studies indicate that the accompanying Zn2+ generated from zinc reduction of the CoII complex plays a critical role to initiate a plausible CoI /CoIII catalytic cycle. This approach allows for the highly efficient generation of chiral propargylamines (up to 99.9 % ee and 2000 S/C) and further useful chemical transformations.
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