Asymmetric Synthesis of Hydrocarbazoles Catalyzed by an Octahedral Chiral-at-Rhodium Lewis Acid

A bis-cyclometalated chiral-at-metal rhodium complex catalyzes the Diels-Alder reaction between N-Boc-protected 3-vinylindoles (Boc = tert-butyloxycarbonyl) and beta-carboxylic ester-substituted alpha,beta-unsaturated 2-acyl imidazoles with good-to-excellent regioselectivity (up to 99:1) and excellent diastereoselectivity (>50:1 d.r.) as well as enantioselectivity (92-99% ee) under optimized conditions. The rhodium catalyst serves as a chiral Lewis acid to activate the 2-acyl imidazole dienophile by two-point binding and overrules the preferred regioselectivity of the uncatalyzed reaction.