Tong Wen-Yan, Su Xiaoxi, Sun Pengrui, Xu Shaojie, Qu Shuanglin, Wang Xiaotai
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, P. R. China.
Department of Chemistry, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, China.
J Org Chem. 2023 Nov 3;88(21):15404-15413. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c01939. Epub 2023 Oct 18.
This density functional theory study explores the detailed mechanism of nickel-catalyzed hydroalkylation of the C═C bond of N-Cbz-protected enamines (Cbz = benzyloxycarbonyl) with alkyl iodides to give chiral α-alkyl amines. The active catalyst (biOx)NiH, a chiral bioxazoline (biOx)-chelated Ni(I) hydride, exhibits chemoselectivity that favors single electron transfer to the alkyl iodide over C═C hydrometalation with the enamine. This generates an alkyl radical and a Ni(II) intermediate, which takes up the enamine substrate CbzNHCH═CHCH via a regio- and enantioselective C═C insertion into the Ni-H bond. The resulting Ni(II) alkyl complex combines with the alkyl radical, forming a Ni(III) intermediate, from which the alkyl-alkyl reductive elimination delivers the chiral amine product. The regioselectivity arises from a combination of orbital and noncovalent interactions, both of which are induced by the Cbz group. Thus, Cbz plays an additional role in controlling regioselectivity. The enantioselectivity stems from the differing distortion energies of CbzNHCH═CHCH. The reductive elimination is the rate-determining step (Δ = 18.7 kcal/mol). In addition, the calculations show a noninnocent behavior of the biOx ligand induced by the insertion of CbzNHCH═CHCH into the Ni-H bond of (biOx)NiH. These computationally gained insights can have implications for developing new Ni(I)-catalyzed reactions.
本密度泛函理论研究探索了镍催化N - Cbz保护的烯胺(Cbz = 苄氧基羰基)的C═C键与烷基碘发生氢烷基化反应生成手性α - 烷基胺的详细机理。活性催化剂(biOx)NiH,一种手性双恶唑啉(biOx)螯合的Ni(I)氢化物,表现出化学选择性,即相比于烯胺的C═C氢金属化反应,更倾向于单电子转移至烷基碘。这产生了一个烷基自由基和一个Ni(II)中间体,该中间体通过区域和对映选择性的C═C插入到Ni - H键中与烯胺底物CbzNHCH═CHCH结合。生成的Ni(II)烷基配合物与烷基自由基结合,形成一个Ni(III)中间体,从该中间体通过烷基 - 烷基还原消除反应得到手性胺产物。区域选择性源于轨道和非共价相互作用的结合,这两者均由Cbz基团诱导产生。因此,Cbz在控制区域选择性方面发挥了额外作用。对映选择性源于CbzNHCH═CHCH不同的扭曲能。还原消除是速率决定步骤(Δ = 18.7 kcal/mol)。此外,计算结果表明,CbzNHCH═CHCH插入(biOx)NiH的Ni - H键会诱导biOx配体产生非单纯行为。这些通过计算获得的见解可能对开发新的Ni(I)催化反应具有启示意义。