Experimental and theoretical studies on the asymmetric cyanosilylation of C2-symmetric hydrazones
摘要:
The Et2AlCl-promoted asymmetric cyanosilylation of (2S,5S)-1-amino-2,5-diphenylpyrrolidine-derived aliphatic hydrazones affords the corresponding hydrazino nitriles with high diastereoselectivity (dr 91:9 to >99:1). The resolving properties of the auxiliary allowed the isolation of the adducts as single diastereoisomers (dr >99:1) in good yields (80-84%) after chromatography. Ab initio MO calculations indicated that the formation of the hydrazone-promoter complex inhibits n ->pi conjugation and increases the nucleophilicity of the dialkylamino nitrogen, enabling the basic activation of TMSCN. The calculated geometries for these complexes show the shielding of the Si face of the C=N bond by one of the phenyl groups in the auxiliary, providing an explanation for the observed absolute configuration. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.