Synthesis and Characterization of Air‐Stable Palladium(II) and Copper(I) Ph‐Garphos Complexes and their Applications to Asymmetric Catalysis

Abstract

Air‐stable palladium(II) and copper(I) complexes containing the 4,4′,6,6′‐tetramethoxybiphenyl‐2,2′‐diyl)bis(diphenylphosphine) ligands, (R)‐Ph‐Garphos ((R)‐L1) and ((S)‐Ph‐Garphos ((S)‐L1), were synthesized and characterized by 1H‐, 13C‐, and 31P{1H} NMR spectroscopy and elemental analyses. The PdCl2((R)‐Ph‐Garphos) ((R)‐1) and PdCl2((S)‐Ph‐Garphos) ((S)‐1) complexes were assessed for the Suzuki‐Miyaura cross‐coupling of aryl halides with phenylboronic acid under ambient conditions, or naphthyl substrates under reflux. X‐ray crystal structures of the copper complexes revealed that [Cu((R)‐Ph‐Garphos)I] ((R)‐2) crystallized as a three‐coordinate monomer in the orthorhombic space group P212121 whereas [Cu((S)‐Ph‐Garphos)I] ((S)‐2) crystallized as a tetrahedral (μ‐I) dimer in the same crystal system. The synthesis of the analogous [Cu((R)‐Ph‐Garphos)OAc] ((R)‐3) is also described. Complexes (R)‐2 and (R)‐3 were evaluated for the asymmetric hydrosilylation of ketones wherein enantioselectivities of up to 83 % ee were achieved.