Roles of C-H...O=S and pi-stacking interactions in the 2-bromoacrolein complex with N-tosyl-(S)-tryptophan-derived oxazaborolidinone catalyst.

[structures: see text] Ab initio and density functional calculations were employed to examine the structures and binding energies of various complexes between 2-bromolacrolein and N-tosyl-(S)-tryptophan-derived B-butyl-1,3,2-oxazaborolidin-5-one (NTOB), a catalyst commonly used for Diels-Alder reactions. Our calculations show that the chiral oxazaborolidinone catalyst serves as a tridentate complexation agent via B...O donor-acceptor, C-H...O hydrogen-bonded, and pi-stacking interactions. The most stable complex (1TS) is predicted to have a binding energy of -93 kJ mol(-1) (deltaG(298) = -29 kJ mol(-1)). The formyl C-H...O hydrogen bond and pi-stacking interaction are the key factors governing the relative stabilities of the four acrolein-NTOB complexes examined. The calculated structure and binding properties of 1TS are consistent with the experimental results on the absorption spectrum of the acrolein-NTOB complex and the effects of substituents on the reactivity of Diels-Alder reactions. 1TS differs from Corey's proposed model of transition-state assembly in two aspects: (1) it involves the s-trans-acrolein and (2) it favors a C-H...O interaction via the sulfonyl oxygen (C-H...O=S), rather than the ring oxygen (C-H...O-B). This calculated structure of the acrolein-catalyst complex provides an alternate explanation of the origin of stereoselectivity in the NTOB-catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions.