Non-Covalent Substrate Directed Enantioselective Heck Desymmetrization of cis-Cyclohex-4-ene-1,2-diol: Synthesis of all cis Chiral 5-Aryl-cyclohex-3-ene-1,2-diols and Mechanistic Investigation

Enantioselective substrate directed Heck reactions are desirable for the stereoselective synthesis of complex molecules. However, due to the coordination requirements of both chiral ligands and directing groups, such methodologies are underdeveloped. We report herein the desymmetrization of meso (1R,2S)-cyclohex-4-ene-1,2-diol in an enantioselective and substrate directed fashion. The method provides all cis substituted highly functionalized chiral allylic alcohols in a complementary fashion to other Heck protocols.The products were obtained in high enantioselectivities (higher than 95% ee) and moderate to high yields (38-87%). The noncovalent interactions responsible for the directing effect were elucidated through computational examination of relevant minima and transition structures.