Fluorinated organocatalysts for the enantioselective epoxidation of enals: Molecular preorganisation by the fluorine-iminium ion Gauche effect

Abstract

The fluorine-iminium ion gauche effect is triggered upon union of a secondary β-fluoroamine and an α,β-unsaturated aldehyde, providing a useful strategy for controlling the molecular topology of intermediates that are central to organocatalytic processes. The β-fluoroamine (S)-2-(fluorodiphenylmethyl)pyrrolidine (1) is an effective catalyst for the enantioselective epoxidation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. A process of structural editing has revealed that the efficiency of this catalyst is due to the (fluorodiphenyl)methyl group when it is embedded in a β-fluoroiminium motif. Epoxidations of challenging cyclic α,β-disubstituted, β,β-disubstituted and α,β,β-trisubstituted enals catalysed by 1 proceed with excellent levels of enantiocontrol (up to 98 % ee). Fluorine finesse! The β-fluoroamine (S)-2-(fluorodiphenylmethyl)pyrrolidine (1) is an effective catalyst for the enantioselective epoxidation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes (see scheme). Application of this catalyst to challenging cyclic α,β-disubstituted enals, β,β-disubstituted enals, and an α,β,β-trisubstituted enal proceeds in a highly enantioselective fashion (up to 98 % ee). Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.