Enantioconvergent 6π Electrocyclization Enabled by Photoredox Racemization

Sebastijan Ričko*, René Slot Bitsch, Mikk Kaasik, Jan Otevrel, Mikkel Højgaard Madsen, Anna Keimer, Karl Anker Jørgensen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

This study presents a novel photoredox-enabled enantioconvergent catalytic strategy used to construct chiral 2H-1,3-benzoxazines via an unprecedented oxa-6π electrocyclization utilizing racemic α-substituted glycinates as substrates. The approach leverages a cobalt-based chiral Lewis acid catalyst, which promotes the transformation under thermal or photoredox conditions. While the thermal reaction selectively converts only the (S)-configured glycinates into enantioenriched 2H-1,3-benzoxazines (up to 96:4 e.r.), the addition of 0.5 mol % of a commercially available iridium photocatalyst under visible light irradiation transforms the reaction into an enantioconvergent process. Detailed mechanistic and time course studies of optically pure α-deuterated substrates revealed the presence of an enantiospecific kinetic isotope effect, which helped to clarify the role of both the photo- and chiral Lewis acid catalyst in the reaction sequence. In this dual catalytic system, the photocatalyst promotes a dynamic interconversion between the substrate enantiomers─a process not accessible via ground-state chemistry─while the chiral Lewis acid selectively transforms only the (S)-configured substrates. Further mechanistic evidence for the proposed mechanism is provided by linear free energy relationship analysis, which suggests that the stereodetermining step involves a 6π electrocyclization under both thermal and photoredox conditions.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume145
Issue38
Pages (from-to)20913–20926
Number of pages14
ISSN0002-7863
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12 Sept 2023

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