Chiral pyrrolidines and piperidines from enantioselective rhodium-catalyzed cascade arylative cyclization.

A new rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric arylative cyclization of nitrogen-tethered alkyne-enoate with arylboronic acids is described. In this process two new carbon-carbon bonds and one stereocenter are formed, providing access to pyrrolidines and piperidines with good enantioselectivities by to the use of C1-symmetric chiral monosubstituted diene ligands.