Enantioselective intramolecular C-H amination of aliphatic azides by dual ruthenium and phosphine catalysis.

The catalytic enantioselective intramolecular C(sp)-H amination of aliphatic azides represents an efficient method for constructing chiral saturated cyclic amines which constitute a prominent structural motif in bioactive compounds. We report a dual catalytic system involving a chiral-at-metal bis(pyridyl-NHC) ruthenium complex and tris(4-fluorophenyl)phosphine (both 1 mol%), which facilitates the cyclization of aliphatic azides to chiral α-aryl pyrrolidines with enantioselectivities of up to 99% ee, including a pyrrolidine which can be converted to the anti-tumor alkaloid ()-(+)-crispine. Mechanistically, the phosphine activates the organic azide to form an intermediate iminophosphorane and transfers the nitrene unit to the ruthenium providing an imido ruthenium intermediate which engages in the highly stereocontrolled C-H amination. This dual catalysis combines ruthenium catalysis with the Staudinger reaction and provides a novel strategy for catalyzing enantioselective C-H aminations of unactivated aliphatic azides.