Book Description

(Cont.) Our studies indicate that unfavorable peri-interactions between the imine substrate and the Lewis acid may be the conformation-controlling element for nucleophilic additions to imines. On the other hand, detailed mechanistic studies of the Mukaiyama aldol reaction suggest a reaction pathway involving an intermediate with a coplanar aldehyde-Lewis acid conformation. These studies demonstrate the broad scope and the high efficiency with which the chiral information is transferred from the planar-chiral Lewis acid to its substrates. Consequently, the turnover step (regeneration of the active Lewis acid) represents the last hurdle to be addressed for achieving asymmetric Lewis acid catalysis. Part III of this thesis describes miscellaneous applications that have been discovered during the course of the development of 1,2-azaborolyl-based planar-chiral Lewis acids. In Chapter 7, we present a surprisingly mild and versatile method for palladium-catalyzed Suzuki cross-couplings of aryl chlorides in the presence of a triarylphosphine. With this catalytic system, both sterically demanding and electronically deactivated aryl chlorides can be efficiently coupled with a range of boronic acids in good yields, and coupling of activated aryl chlorides can be accomplished at room temperature. In Chapter 8, we report the synthesis and characterization of novel 1,2-azaborines and their potential as benzene surrogates.