Tunable ligands for asymmetric catalysis: readily available carbohydrate-derived diarylphosphinites induce high selectivity in the hydrovinylation of styrene derivatives.

Only a limited number of ligands have been successfully employed for the Ni-catalyzed asymmetric hydrovinylation reaction. Diarylphosphonites prepared from readily available carbohydrates in conjunction with a highly dissociated counterion ([3,5-(CF3)2-C6H3)4B]- or SbF6-) effect the hydrovinylation of 4-bromostyrene or 4-isobutylstyrene under ambient pressure of ethylene with the best overall selectivities reported to date for these important substrates. In a prototypical synthesis of a 2-arylpropionic acid, 3-(4-bromophenyl)-1-butene (prepared in 98% isolated yield and 89% ee from 4-bromostyrene) has been transformed into (R)-ibuprofen by Ni-catalyzed cross-coupling with i-BuMgBr, ozonolysis, and subsequent oxidation of the resulting aldehyde.