Chemoselectivity and stereoselectivity of cyclisation of α-diazocarbonyls leading to oxygen and sulfur heterocycles catalysed by chiral rhodium and copper catalysts

Abstract

Good levels of enantioselectivity have been achieved in intramolecular C–H insertion reactions of α-diazocarbonyl compounds leading to six-membered oxygen heterocycles (chromanones) through the use of chiral rhodium(II) carboxylates as catalysts. Competition between C–H insertion and sigmatropic rearrangement, the latter leading to five-membered oxygen heterocycles (furanones), was observed with precursors containing a proximal O-allyl side chain. Whereas rhodium carboxylates produced C-H insertion products predominantly, a copper catalyst produced sigmatropic rearrangement products exclusively. A precursor with an S-allyl side chain exhibited cyclisation via sigmatropic rearrangement with both copper and rhodium catalysts.