We have developed a simple protocol for the preparation of 1,2-fluorohydrin by asymmetric hydrogenation of fluorinated allylic alcohols using an efficient azabicyclo thiazole-phosphine iridium complex. The iridium-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of chiral 1,2-fluorohydrin molecules was carried out at ambient temperature with operational simplicity, and scalability. This method was compatible with various aromatic, aliphatic, and heterocyclic fluorinated compounds as well as a variety of polyfluorinated compounds, providing the corresponding products in excellent yields and enantioselectivities.

The development of new general methods for the synthesis of chiral fluorine-containing molecules is important for several scientific disciplines. We herein disclose a straightforward method for the preparation of chiral organofluorine molecules that is based on the iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of trisubstituted alkenyl fluorides. This catalytic asymmetric process enables the synthesis of chiral fluorine molecules with or without carbonyl substitution. Owing to the tunable steric and electronic properties of the azabicyclo thiazole-phosphine iridium catalyst, this stereoselective reaction could be optimized and was found to be compatible with various aromatic, aliphatic, and heterocyclic systems with a variety of functional groups, providing the highly desirable products in excellent yields and enantioselectivities.

The synthesis of chiral fluorine containing motifs, in particular, chiral fluorine molecules with two contiguous stereogenic centers, has attracted much interest in research due to the limited number of methods available for their preparation. Herein, we report an atom-economical and highly stereoselective synthesis of chiral fluorine molecules with two contiguous stereogenic centers via azabicyclo iridium-oxazoline-phosphine-catalyzed hydrogenation of readily available vinyl fluorides. Various aromatic, aliphatic, and heterocyclic systems with a variety of functional groups were found to be compatible with the reaction and provide the highly desirable product as single diastereomers with excellent enantioselectivities.

We present a highly efficient convergent asymmetric hydrogenation of E/Z mixtures of enamides catalyzed by N,P–iridium complexes supported by mechanistic studies. It was found that reduction of the olefinic isomers (E and Z geometries) produces chiral amides with the same absolute configuration (enantioconvergent hydrogenation). This allowed the hydrogenation of a wide range of E/Z mixtures of trisubstituted enamides with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee). A detailed mechanistic study using deuterium labeling and kinetic experiments revealed two different pathways for the observed enantioconvergence. For α-aryl enamides, fast isomerization of the double bond takes place, and the overall process results in kinetic resolution of the two isomers. For α-alkyl enamides, no double bond isomerization is detected, and competition experiments suggested that substrate chelation is responsible for the enantioconvergent stereochemical outcome. DFT calculations were performed to predict the correct absolute configuration of the products and strengthen the proposed mechanism of the iridium-catalyzed isomerization pathway.

We developed an efficient methodology for the enantioconvergent isomerization-hydrogenation of allylic alcohols. A variety of allylic alcohols, each consisting of a mixture of four isomers, were converted to one single diastereomeric tertiary alcohol with up to 99% ee and 99:1 d.r. DFT calculations and control experiments revealed that the 1,3-rearrangement is the crucial stereodetermining element of the reaction. A model that explains the origin of selectivity for this enantioconvergent hydrogenation was also proposed.

Homogeneous and heterogeneous catalyzed reactions can seldom operate synergistically under the same conditions. Here we communicate the use of a single rhodium precursor that acts in both the homogeneous and heterogeneous phases for the asymmetric full saturation of vinylarenes that, to date, constitute an unmet bottleneck in the field. A simple asymmetric hydrogenation of a styrenic olefin, enabled by a ligand accelerated effect, accounted for the facial selectivity in the consecutive arene hydrogenation. Tuning the ratio between the phosphine ligand and the rhodium precursor controlled the formation of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic species that operate without interference from each other. The system is flexible in terms of both the chiral ligand and the nature of the external olefin. We anticipate that our findings will promote the development of asymmetric arene hydrogenations.