Asymmetric hydroformylation of styrene catalyzed by carbohydrate diphosphite-Rh(I) complexes

A series of new chelating diphosphite ligands with a furanoside backbone and axially chiral biphenyl or binaphthyl moieties have been synthesized. Their Rh(I) complexes have been tested as catalyst precursors for the asymmetric hydroformylation of styrene. Systematic variation in chirality at both chiral sugar backbone stereocenters (C-3 and C-5) and either the axial chiral biphenyl or binaphthyl substituents revealed a remarkable effect on the selectivity of the hydroformylation catalysts. In this way, by judicious choice of these elements, both regio- and enantioselectivities can be optimized. Thus, both high enantioselectivity (up to 93% S) and regioselectivity in 2-phenylpropanal (up to 98.8%) were found under mild reaction conditions (15-40degreesC, 10 bar of syngas) for the ligand with a glucofuranoside backbone and bis(trimethylsilyl)-2,2'-biphenyl moiety. The solution structures of HRh(L-L)(CO)(2) complexes have been studied by high pressure NMR and IR. Varying the configuration of the binaphthyl moieties revealed a remarkable effect on the diphosphite coordination modes on the intermediate HRh(L-L)(CO)(2) species and, therefore, on enantioselectivity. Enantioselectivity was highest for ligands with a strong bis-equatorial coordination preference.