Rhodium-catalyzed ring-opening reactions of N-boc-azabenzonorbornadienes with amine nucleophiles

In the presence of a rhodium catalyst (5 mol %) generated in situ from [Rh(cod)Cl](2) and (S,S')- (R,R')-C-2-ferriphos(4a), the asymmetric ring-opening reaction of azabenzonorbornadienes (1a-m) with various aliphatic and aromatic amines (2a-I) proceeded with high enantioselectivity (up to > 99% ee) to give the corresponding 1,2-diamine derivatives 3 in high yields. In the specific case of pyrrolidine as nucleophile, Et3NHCI was necessary as an additive for good reactivity and enantioselectivity. Additionally, a practical protocol was developed for the ring-opening of 1a with volatile amines at elevated temperatures and standard pressure, using R2NH2I and i-Pr2NEt. The experimental results showed that the nature of the chiral ligand has the significant impact on the reactivity of the catalyst and the use of excess amount (2.2 eq to Rh) of the chiral ligand plays an important role to improve the enantioselectivity in the present asymmetric reaction.