A novel example of chiral counteranion induced enantioselective metal catalysis: the importance of ion-pairing in copper-catalyzed olefin aziridination and cyclopropanation
A new ion-pairing route to achieve asymmetric catalysis has been observed in the copper-catalyzed aziridination of styrene with a chiral counteranion. Structural studies suggest that enantioinduction occurs via ion-pairing of the cationic copper catalyst in the chiral pocket created by the anion. The degree of asymmetric induction can be tuned with features that affect ion-pairing, such as achiral and chiral ligands, temperature, and solvent polarity.
Llewellyn
DB
Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2K6, Canada.
Adamson
D
Arndtsen
BA