Enantioselective Synthesis of Chiral Oxygen-Containing Heterocycles Using Copper-Catalyzed Aryl C–O Coupling Reactions via Asymmetric Desymmetrization

An enantioselective desymmetric aryl C–O coupling reaction was demonstrated under the catalysis of CuI and a chiral cyclic diamine ligand. A series of chiral oxygen-containing heterocyclic units such as 2,3-dihydrobenzofurans, chromans, and 1,4-benzodioxanes with tertiary or quaternary stereocarbon centers were synthesized with this method. DFT calculations were also carried out for a better understanding of the model for enantiocontrol.