Asymmetric Arylation of Diazoesters with Anisoles Enabled byCooperative Gold and Phosphoric Acid Catalysis

An enantioselective insertion of a carbene into theCsp2-H bond of anisole derivatives has been accomplished using anachiral gold complex and a chiral phosphoric acid as the catalyticsystem, providing a novel protocol for the synthesis of chiral alpha,alpha-diarylacetates. Density functional theory calculations reveal the reactivity andthe origin of the enantioselectivity of this reaction.

Automated summary

In this study, an enantioselective insertion of a carbene into the Csp2-H bond of anisole derivatives was achieved using a chiral gold complex and a chiral phosphoric acid as the catalytic system, offering a novel approach for the synthesis of chiral α,α-diarylacetates.