Cover Feature: Control of Enantioselectivity in Rhodium(I) Catalysis by Planar Chiral Dibenzo[a,e]cyclooctatetraenes (Chem. Eur. J. 10/2018)

Abstract

The chirality of 5,11‐disubstituted dibenzo[a,e]cyclooctatetraene ligands is represented by a two‐fold axis of symmetry in molecular monarch‐butterflies searching for flowers (metal centers). A flap of the butterfly wings will interconvert enantiomeric insects in the same way as dissymmetric cyclooctatetraenes racemize. The symmetry of the butterflies is broken both by the pattern of the wings and through a single antenna on each head. The latter represents the 5,11‐pattern of substitution that gives rise to exceptionally efficient asymmetric catalysis. More information can be found in the Communication by D. Strand et al. on page 2344.