Rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric ring opening reactions of oxabicyclic alkenes: catalyst and substrate studies leading to a mechanistic working model.

Catalyst and substrate studies have been performed on the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric ring opening reaction. A working model is advanced that involves oxidative insertion with retention to form an organorhodium intermediate that then undergoes nucleophilic attack with inversion. Kinetic and competition experiments have uncovered evidence for a proton transfer step in the catalytic cycle that may activate both the allylrhodium intermediate and the nucleophile. We have also conducted experiments designed to understand which properties of the PPF-P(t)Bu(2) ligand contribute to the high reactivities and enantioselectivities.