Abstract
A bis(oxazoline) (box) copper(II) complex and its hydrated counterpart (1 and 2) function as enantioselective Lewis acid catalysts for carbocyclic and hetero Diels−Alder, aldol, Michael, ene, and amination reactions with substrates capable of chelation through six- and five-membered rings. X-ray crystallography of the chiral complexes reveals a propensity for the formation of distorted square planar or square pyramidal geometries. The sense of asymmetric induction is identical for all the processes catalyzed by [Cu((S,S)-t-Bu-box)](X)2 complexes 1 and 2 (X = OTf and SbF) resulting from the intervention of a distorted square planar catalyst-substrate binary complex. These catalyzed processes exhibit excellent temperature−selectivity profiles. Reactions catalyzed by [Cu(S,S-Ph-pybox)](SbF6)2 and their derived chelation complexes are also discussed.