Asymmetric catalysis articles from across Nature Portfolio

The design of efficient and selective catalysts is a formidable challenge in chemical science. Here the authors design a data-driven workflow to achieve the digitalized knowledge transfer between the synthetically relevant transformations, which was demonstrated in the prediction of chiral carboxylic acid co-catalyst for the cobalt-catalyzed asymmetric C–H alkylation of indoles.

Accessing saturated stereogenic centers by asymmetric alkyl-alkyl formation is attractive yet challenging. Here, the authors develop a Ni-catalysed cross-coupling reaction of two alkyl halides enabled by the in-situ formation of alkyl zinc from one alkyl halide.

Enantioselective α-allylic allenylation of carbonyls is a straightforward approach to access chiral allenes that are of significant relevance as synthons and bio-active products. Here, the Luo group describe an asymmetric α-allylic allenylation of β-ketocarbonyls and aldehydes with 1,3-enynes, via a combined chiral primary amine and palladium catalyst system.

Twisted aromatic belts provide unique topologies and complex chiralities for nanocarbon materials. Now, rhodium-catalysed asymmetric [2 + 2 + 2] cycloadditions enable the stereoselective synthesis of doubly, triply and quadruply twisted aromatic belts.

The backbone stereoregularity that dictates a broad range of polymer properties cannot be readily controlled in radical polymerizations. Now, bimetallic catalysts containing covalently bridged rare earth and cobalt complexes enable stereocontrolled living radical polymerization of acrylamides tethered with diverse polar and ionic pendant groups.

Catalytic enantioselective approaches to access chiral organophosphorus compounds are rare. A two-stage catalytic strategy for the synthesis of diverse enantioenriched P(V) compounds has now been developed: a bifunctional iminophosphorane superbase enables enantioselective nucleophilic desymmetrization, followed by downstream enantiospecific diversification of the resulting intermediate by substitution with medicinally relevant O-, N- and S-based nucleophiles.