Cobalt(III)-Catalyzed Diastereo- and Enantioselective Three-Component C-H Functionalization

Catalytic enantioselective C-H functionalization has recently become a tool for the creation of stereogenic centers. The steep increase in molecular complexity of multicomponent reactions matches very well with asymmetric C-H functionalizations, but the realization of such processes remains a large challenge. We describe a diastereoselective and highly enantioselective three-component C-H functionalization catalyzed by an earth-abundant Co(III) complex equipped with a chiral cyclopentadienyl ligand (Cp-x). The transformation provides a rapid access to substituted beta-hydroxyketones using three readily accessible starting materials. The outlined reactivity of (CpCo)-Co-x(III) catalysis shows a higher and exploitable propensity for selective additions across carbonyls in contrast to the chemistry of Rh(III).

Automated summary

Catalytic enantioselective C-H functionalization has become a tool for creating stereogenic centers, but remains a challenge. A three-component C-H functionalization catalyzed by an earth-abundant Co(III) complex with high enantioselectivity has been described, providing a rapid access to substituted beta-hydroxyketones. The outlined reactivity of (CpCo)-Co-x(III) catalysis shows a higher and exploitable propensity for selective additions across carbonyls compared to Rh(III) chemistry.