Sulfenylphosphinoferrocenes: Novel planar chiral ligands in enantioselective catalysis

Abstract

Structurally well-defined transition-metal complexes of 1-phosphino-2-sulfenylferrocene (Fesulphos ligands) act as highly efficient catalysts in a variety of mechanistically different transformations. Excellent enantioselectivities were achieved in Pd-catalyzed allylic substitutions, desymmetrization of meso-heterobicyclic alkenes by Pd-catalyzed addition of dialkylzinc reagents, Pd-catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene with N-acryloyl oxazolidinones, and in Cu-catalyzed formal aza-Diels-Alder reaction of Danishefsky diene to N-sulfonyl aldimines.