Enantioselective, Copper-Catalyzed Alkynylation of Ketimines To Deliver Isoquinolines with α‑Diaryl Tetrasubstituted Stereocenters

An enantioselective, copper-catalyzed alkynylation of cyclic α,α-diaryl ketiminium ions has been developed to deliver isoquinoline products with diaryl, tetrasubstituted stereocenters. The success of this reaction relied on identification of Ph-PyBox as the optimal ligand, i-Pr2NEt as the base, and CHCl3 as the solvent. A broad scope and functional group tolerance were observed. Notably, the use of both aryl and silyl acetylenes results in high yields and enantioselectivities. Mechanistic experiments are consistent with a dimeric or higher order catalyst.