New ferrocenyl P,S and S,S ligands for asymmetric catalysis

Various new chiral ferrocenyl phosphine-thioethers and thiophosphine-thioethers with planar chirality only have been efficiently synthesized with good overall yields (39-43%) in enantiomerically pure form by a nine-step sequence involving the introduction of the planar chirality by Kagan's acetal method. These new P,S and S,S ligands have been successfully used in the palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reaction (ee up to 93%). (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.