Mechanistic Details of Asymmetric Bromocyclization with BINAP Monoxide: Identification of Chiral Proton-Bridged Bisphosphine Oxide Complex and Its Application to Parallel Kinetic Resolution
Kenji Yamashita, Ryo Hirokawa, Mamoru Ichikawa, Tatsunari Hisanaga, Yoshihiro Nagao, Ryo Takita, Kohei Watanabe, Yuji Kawato, Yoshitaka Hamashima
Abstract
The mechanism of our previously reported catalytic asymmetric bromocyclization reactions using 2,2′-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1′-binaphthyl (BINAP) monoxide was examined in detail by the means of control experiments, NMR studies, X-ray structure analysis, and CryoSpray electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis. The chiral BINAP monoxide was transformed to a key catalyst precursor, proton-bridged bisphosphine oxide complex (POHOP·Br), in the presence of N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and contaminating water. The thus-formed POHOP further reacts with NBS to afford BINAP dioxide and molecular bromine (Br2) simultaneously in equimolar amounts. While the resulting Br2 is activated by NBS to form a more reactive brominating reagent (Br2─NBS), BINAP dioxide serves as a bifunctional catalyst, acting as both a Lewis base that reacts with Br2─NBS to form a chiral brominating agent (P═O+─Br) and also as a Brønsted base for the activation of the substrate. By taking advantage of this novel concerted Lewis/Brønsted base catalysis by BINAP dioxide, we achieved the first regio- and chemodivergent parallel kinetic resolutions (PKRs) of racemic unsymmetrical bisallylic amides via bromocyclization.