The atroposelective synthesis of axially chiral styrenes remains a formidable challenge due to their relatively lower rotational barriers compared to the biaryl atropoisomers. Herein, we describe the construction of axially chiral styrenes through PdII -catalyzed atroposelective C-H olefination, using a bulky amino amide as a transient chiral auxiliary. Various axially chiral styrenes were produced with good yields and high enantioselectivity (up to 95 % yield and 99 % ee). Carboxylic acid derivatives of the resulting axially chiral styrenes showed superior enantiocontrol over the biaryl counterparts in CoIII -catalyzed enantioselective C(sp3 )-H amidation of thioamide. Mechanistic studies suggest that C-H cleavage is the enantioselectivity-determining step.
Keywords: C−H olefination; atroposelectivity; axially chiral styrenes; palladium; transient directing groups.
© 2020 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.