A General Approach to the Synthesis of β2‐Amino Acid Derivatives via Highly Efficient Catalytic Asymmetric Hydrogenation of α‐Aminomethylacrylates

Abstract

AbstractA new strategy was developed for the synthesis of a valuable class of α‐aminomethylacrylates via the Baylis–Hillman reaction of different aldehydes with methyl acrylate followed by acetylation of the resulting allylic alcohols and SN2′‐type amination of the allylic acetates. Asymmetric hydrogenation of these diverse olefinic precursors using rhodium(Et‐Duphos) catalysts provided the corresponding β2‐amino acid derivatives with excellent enantioselectivities and exceedingly high reactivities (up to >99.5% ee and S/C=10,000). The first hydrogenation of (Z)‐configurated substrates was studied for the synthesis of β2‐amino acid derivatives. The high influence of the substrate geometry and steric hindrance on the reactivity and enantioselectivity was also disclosed for this reaction. This protocol provides a highly practical, facile and scalable method for the preparation of optically pure β2‐amino acids and their derivatives under mild reaction conditions.