Rh-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of a-Substituted Alkenyl Sulfones: Highly Chemo- and Enantioselective Access to Chiral Sulfones

Rh-(R,R)-f-spiroPhos complex-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of a-substituted alkenyl sulfones has been achieved, affording the chiral ?-keto sulfones and simple a-alkyl-substituted sulfones in high yields (96-99%) with excellent chemo-/enantioselectivities (86-96% ee) and high turnover numbers (TONs) of up to 4000. The method provides an efficient and high-enantioselectivity strategy for chiral ?-keto sulfones and simple a-substituted sulfones under mild conditions. Moreover, the obtained hydrogenation product was transformed into other important chiral a-substituted sulfones.

Automated summary

The asymmetric hydrogenation of a-substituted alkenyl sulfones using Rh-(R,R)-f-spiroPhos complex catalyst has been successfully achieved, resulting in high yields (96-99%) of chiral ?-keto sulfones and simple a-alkyl-substituted sulfones with excellent chemo-/enantioselectivities (86-96% ee) and high turnover numbers (TONs) of up to 4000. This method provides an efficient and high-enantioselectivity strategy for the synthesis of chiral ?-keto sulfones and simple a-substituted sulfones under mild conditions. Additionally, the obtained hydrogenation product can be transformed into other important chiral a-substituted sulfones.