Recent Advance in Catalytic Asymmetric Friedel-Crafts Reactions

Catalytic asymmetric Friedel-Crafts reaction is one of the most efficient methods for the construction of optically active aryl-or heteroaryl-containing compounds. Since Friedel and Crafts reported the first example in 1877, this reaction has attracted wide attention. In recent twenty years, asymmetric catalytic Friedel-Crafts reaction has been well studied in the presence of a number of chiral bifunctional organocatalysts (such as derivatives of cinchona alkaloids, chiral prolinol ethers, chiral phosphoric acids, chiral thiourea, etc.)and various metal and chiral ligand (chiral N,N'-dioxide, chiral bis (oxazoline), chiral Schiff base) complexes. In this paper, we summarize the recent progress in asymmetric Friedel-Crafts reactions of phenols, pyrroles, furans and thiophenes. Finally, the deficiencies as well as the perspective of the Friedel-Crafts reaction have been highlighted.