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Updated: Jun 16, 2025

Preparation of Contiguous Bisaziridines for Regioselective Ring-Opening Reactions
Published on: July 28, 2022
Rh(I)-Catalyzed Regio- and Enantioselective Ring Opening of Vinyl Cyclopropanes
Stephen J Webster1, László B Balázs1, F Wieland Goetzke1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K.
Abstract:
We describe a Rh(I) catalyzed asymmetric ring opening of racemic vinyl cyclopropanes using aryl boronic acids as C-nucleophiles. When ferrocene-based chiral bisphosphines are used as ligands, the products are obtained with regioselectivities typically 99:1 r.r. and ee's generally between 88 and 96%. A wide range of aryl boronic acids can be used, and the products can be converted into a variety of targets. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicate that Zn(OTf)2 plays a significant role in the reaction by promoting rhodium-ligand complex formation and accelerating the reaction. We expect this method and these mechanistic insights to be useful in the development of new asymmetric methods.
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