Design of catalysts for site-selective and enantioselective functionalization of non-activated primary C-H bonds

C-H functionalization represents a promising approach for the synthesis of complex molecules. Instead of relying on modifying the functional groups present in a molecule, the synthetic sequence is achieved by carrying out selective reactions on the C-H bonds, which traditionally would have been considered to be the unreactive components of a molecule. A major challenge is to design catalysts to control both the site- and stereoselectivity of the C-H functionalization. We have been developing dirhodium catalysts with different selectivity profiles in C-H functionalization reactions with donor/acceptor carbenes as reactive intermediates. Here we describe a new dirhodium catalyst capable of the functionalization of non-activated primary C-H bonds with high levels of site selectivity and enantioselectivity.