Rhodium/chiral diene-catalyzed asymmetric 1,4-addition of arylboronic acids to arylmethylene cyanoacetates

Asymmetric 1,4-addition of arylboronic acids to (E)-methyl 2-cyano-3-arylpropenoates proceeded in the presence of a rhodium catalyst (3 mol %) coordinated with a chiral diene ligand, (RR)-Ph-bod*, to give high yields of the corresponding methyl 3,3-diaryl-2-cyanopropanoates with high enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee). This catalytic asymmetric transformation was applied to the asymmetric synthesis of (R)-tolterodine.