Enantioselective synthesis of highly substituted furans by a copper(II)-catalyzed cycloisomerization-indole addition reaction.

A catalytic enantioselective reaction based on a copper(II) catalyst strictly containing chiral anionic ligands is described. In the present work, copper(II)-phosphate catalyst promotes the intramolecular heterocyclization of 2-(1-alkynyl)-2-alkene-1-ones and facilitates high levels of enantioselectivity in the subsequent nucleophile attack. Mechanistic studies suggest that formation of a copper(II)-indole species is important for catalysis.