Atroposelective Chan–Evans–Lam Amination

Abstract

AbstractThe synthetic control of atropoisomerism along C−N bonds is a major challenge, and methods that allow C−N atroposelective bond formation are rare. This is a problem because each atropoisomer can feature starkly differentiated biological properties. Yet, among the three most practical and applicable classical amination methods available: 1) the Cu‐catalyzed Ullmann–Goldberg reaction, 2) the Pd‐catalyzed Buchwald–Hartwig reaction, and 3) the Cu‐catalyzed Chan–Evans–Lam reaction, none has truly been rendered atroposelective at the newly formed C−N bond. The first ever Chan–Evans–Lam atroposelective amination is herein described with a simple copper catalyst and newly designed PyrOx chiral ligand. This method should find important applications in asymmetric synthesis, in particular for medicinal chemistry.