Asymmetric induction afforded by chiral azolylidene N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) catalysts

Screening studies of new chiral imidazolium and triazolium based NHC salts I-VIII as ligands in asymmetric organometallic catalysis and as organocatalysts showed that these catalysts efficiently promoted the reactions. Moderate enantioselectivities (55-57% ee) were obtained in the asymmetric Cu-NHC catalysed conjugate additions of diethylzinc to cyclohexenone, in accordance with most previous studies. The chiral induction afforded in the gold(I)-NHC catalysed cyclopropanation reactions was low (< 28% ee). However, these results represent the first reported chiral gold(I)-NHC catalysed olefin cyclopropanation. The NHC-organocatalysed asymmetric cross-annulation of cinnamaldehyde and trifluoroacetophenone gave lower enantioselectivity (< 50% ee) but higher yields of the gamma-lactone product relative to previous reports. The enantioselectivities obtained varied considerably, even within a group of structurally closely related NHCs. This study demonstrates the challenge of designing NHCs with a general ability to induce asymmetry in a broader range of reactions. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.