Theoretical Elucidation on the Regio-, Diastereo-, and Enantio-Selectivities of Chiral Primary–Tertiary Diamine Catalyst for Asymmetric Direct Aldol Reactions of Aliphatic Ketones

Abstract

The asymmetric direct aldol reactions of aliphatic ketones (acetone, butanone, and cyclohexanone) with 4-nitrobenzaldehyde catalyzed by a chiral primary-tertiary diamine catalyst (trans-N,N-dimethyl diaminocyclohexane) have been investigated by performing density functional theory calculations to rationalize the experimentally observed stereoselectivities. Focused on the crucial C-C bond-forming steps, we located several low-lying transition states and predicted their relative stabilities. The calculated results demonstrate that the catalytic direct aldol reactions of acetone favors the (S)-enantiomer and that butanone prefers the branched syn-selective product, while cyclohexanone yields predominantly the opposite anti-selective product. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental findings and provide a reasonable explanation for the high enantioselectivity and diastereoselectivity, as well as regioselectivity, of the aldol reactions under consideration.