Mechanistic Study of the Asymmetric Carbonyl-Ene Reaction between Alkyl Enol Ethers and Isatin Catalyzed by the N,N'-Dioxide-Mg(OTf)2 Complex.

Abstract

The mechanism and origin of the stereoselectivity of the asymmetric carbonyl-ene reaction between N-methyl-protected isatin and 2-methyloxypropene catalyzed by the N,N'-dioxide-Mg(OTf)2 complex were investigated by DFT and ONIOM methods. The background reaction occurred via a two-stage, one-step mechanism with a high activation barrier of 30.4 kcal mol(-1) at the B3LYP-D3(BJ)/6-311G**(SMD, CH2Cl2)//B3LYP/6-31G*(SMD, CH2Cl2) level at 303 K. Good linear correlations between the global nucleophilicity index (N) and the activation energy barrier (ΔG(⧧)) were found. The chiral N,N'-Mg(II) complex catalyst could enhance the electrophilicity of the isatin substrate by forming hexacoordinate Mg(II) reactive species. The substituent at the ortho positions of aniline combined with the aliphatic ring of the backbone in the chiral N,N'-dioxide ligand played an important role in the construction of a favorable "pocket-like" chiral environment (chiral pocket) around the Mg(II) center, directing the preferential orientation of the incoming substrate. An unfavorable steric arrangement in the re-face attack pathway translated into a more destabilizing activation strain of the ene substrate, enhancing enantiodifferentiation of two competing pathways for the desired R product. This work also suggested a new phosphine ligand (N-L1) for the formation of the Mg(II) complex catalyst for the asymmetric carbonyl-ene reaction. The chiral environment and Lewis acidity of the Mg(II) complex could be fine-tuned by introduction of P-donor units into the ligand for highly efficient asymmetric catalysis.