Metal‐coordinating directing groups have seen extensive use in the field of transition‐metal‐catalyzed alkene functionalization; however, their waste‐generating installation and removal steps limit the efficiency and practicality of reactions that rely on their use. Inspired by developments in asymmetric organocatalysis, where reactions rely on reversible covalent interactions between an organic substrate and a chiral mediator, we have developed a transient‐directing‐group approach to reductive Heck hydroarylation of alkenyl benzaldehyde substrates that proceeds under mild conditions. Highly stereoselective migratory insertion is facilitated by in situ formation of an imine from catalytic amounts of a commercially available amino acid additive. Computational studies reveal an unusual mode of enantioinduction by the remote chiral center in the transient directing group.

A nickel-catalyzed regiodivergent hydroarylation and hydroalkenylation of unactivated alkenyl carboxylic acids is reported, whereby the ligand environment around the metal center dictates the regiochemical outcome. Markovnikov hydrofunctionalization products are obtained under mild ligandfree conditions, with up to 99% yield and >20:1 selectivity. Alternatively, anti-Markovnikov products can be accessed with a novel 4,4-disubstituted Pyrox ligand in excellent yield and >20:1 selectivity. Both electronic and steric effects on the ligand contribute to the high yield and selectivity. Mechanistic studies suggest a change in the turnover-limiting and selectivity-determining step induced by the optimal ligand. DFT calculations reveal that in the anti-Markovnikov pathway, repulsion between the ligand and the alkyl group is minimized (by virtue of it being 1° versus 2°) in the rate-and regioselectivity-determining transmetalation transition state.

Metal‐coordinating directing groups have seen extensive use in the field of transition‐metal‐catalyzed alkene functionalization; however, their waste‐generating installation and removal steps limit the efficiency and practicality of reactions that rely on their use. Inspired by developments in asymmetric organocatalysis, where reactions rely on reversible covalent interactions between an organic substrate and a chiral mediator, we have developed a transient‐directing‐group approach to reductive Heck hydroarylation of alkenyl benzaldehyde substrates that proceeds under mild conditions. Highly stereoselective migratory insertion is facilitated by in situ formation of an imine from catalytic amounts of a commercially available amino acid additive. Computational studies reveal an unusual mode of enantioinduction by the remote chiral center in the transient directing group.

We report a full account of our research on nickel-catalyzed Markovnikov-selective hydroarylation and hydroalkenylation of non-conjugated alkenes, which has yielded a toolkit of methods that proceed under mild conditions with...

We report a full account of our research on nickel-catalyzed Markovnikov-selective hydroarylation and hydroalkenylation of non-conjugated alkenes, which has yielded a toolkit of methods that proceed under mild conditions with alkenyl sulfonamide, ketone, and amide substrates. Regioselectivity is controlled through catalyst coordination to the native Lewis basic functional groups contained within these substrates. To maximize product yield, reaction conditions were fine-tuned for each substrate class, reflecting the different coordination properties of the directing functionality. Detailed kinetic and computational studies shed light on the mechanism of this family of transformations, pointing to transmetalation as the turnover-limiting step.

Metal-coordinating directing groups have seen extensive use in the field of transition-metal-catalyzed alkene functionalization; however, their waste-generating installation and removal steps limit the efficiency and practicality of reactions that rely on their use. Inspired by developments in asymmetric organocatalysis, where reactions rely on reversible covalent interactions between an organic substrate and a chiral mediator, we have developed a transient-directing-group approach to reductive Heck hydroarylation of alkenyl benzaldehyde substrates that proceeds under mild conditions. Highly stereoselective migratory insertion is facilitated by in situ formation of an imine from catalytic amounts of a commercially available amino acid additive. Computational studies reveal an unusual mode of enantioinduction by the remote chiral center in the transient directing group.Among the foremost challenges in modern synthetic chemistry is forming carbon-carbon bonds to establish stereocenters remote from existing functional groups. Catalytic enantioselective alkene functionalization has emerged as an attractive strategy owing to the widespread accessibility and unique reactivity profile of alkenes. Within the contemporary alkene functionalization toolkit, palladium-catalyzed Heck-type arylations [1] constitute an especially powerful mode of reactivity as a result of their broad substrate scope and functional-group compatibility. Nevertheless, significant limitations in Heck-type chemistry remain, including controlling regioselectivity with multi-substituted, electronically neutral alkenes; suppressing b-hydride elimination to enable interception with additional reaction partners; and achieving stereoinduction during intermolecular migratory insertion. [2] The use of directing groups (DGs), functional motifs containing one or more binding sites that are capable of facilitating efficient intramolecular delivery of a reagent or catalyst, is a classical strategy in organic synthesis for controlling reactivity and selectivity. [3] In recent years, remov-able-DG strategies have been successfully applied to various alkene functionalization reactions, [4] including classical Mizoroki-Heck alkene arylations. [5] In the realm of difunctionalization and hydrofunctionalization of acyclic internal alkenes, removable bidentate DGs, such as 8-aminoquinoline-derived amides, have proven especially valuable due to their ability to suppress b-hydride elimination and allow subsequent transmetalation/ligand exchange. [6,7] While reactions involving removable DGs are intrinsically valuable, they are limited by the fact that the DG needs to be installed and cleaved, requiring a minimum of two concession steps (Scheme 1 A). Additionally, reactions using DGs are difficult to render enantioselective owing to a lack of available coordination sites on the metal for a chiral ligand. [8] Developing a strategy whereby a chiral directing moiety could condense with the substrate reversibly, promote the desired reaction, and then dissociate effectiv...

<p>Metal-coordinating directing groups have seen extensive use in the field of transition-metal-mediated functionalization of alkenes; however, their waste-generating installation and removal steps limit the efficiency and practicality of reactions that rely on their use. Inspired by developments in the field of C–H activation, herein we report a transient directing group approach to reductive Heck hydroarylation of alkenyl benzaldehyde substrates that proceeds under mild conditions. Highly stereoselective migratory insertion is facilitated by in situ formation of an imine from catalytic amounts of commercially available amino acid additive. Computational studies reveal an unusual mode of enantioinduction by the remote chiral center in the transient directing group.</p>

<div>A nickel-catalyzed regiodivergent hydroarylation and hydroalkenylation of unactivated alkenyl carboxylic acids is reported, whereby the ligand environment around the metal center dictates the regiochemical outcome. Markovnikov hydrofunctionalization products are obtained under mild ligand-free conditions, with up to 99% yield and >20:1 selectivity. Alternatively, anti-Markovnikov products can be accessed with a novel 4,4-disubstituted Pyrox ligand in excellent yield and >20:1 selectivity. Both electronic and steric effects on the ligand contribute to the high yield and selectivity. Mechanistic studies suggest a change in the turnover-limiting and selectivity-determining step induced by the optimal ligand. DFT calculations reveal that in the anti-Markovnikov pathway, repulsion between the ligand and the alkyl group is minimized (by virtue of it being 1° versus 2°) in the rate- and regioselectivity-determining transmetalation transition state. <br></div>