Chiral olefins as steering ligands in asymmetric catalysis

Abstract

Metal-catalyzed asymmetric processes offer one of the most straightforward ways to introduce stereogenic centers. Hence, the development of novel chiral ligands that can effectively induce asymmetry in reactions is crucial in modern organic synthesis. While many established chiral ligands bind to a metal through heteroatoms, structures that coordinate to metals through carbon atoms have received little attention so far. Here, we highlight the increasing number of such chiral chelating olefin ligands as well as their application in a variety of metal-catalyzed transformations.