Chiral Phosphoric Acid Catalyzed Asymmetric Ring Contraction of Isoxazoles under Dye-Free Photodriven Conditions

Cooperative phosphoric acid/photocatalysis enables novel asymmetric methods, and prior systems are largely confined to radicals generated from photoredox, energy-transfer, or EDA-complex mechanisms. Reported herein is excitation of chiral phosphoric acid–isoxazole adduct to deliver enantioenriched 2H-azirines via ring contraction. This catalytic system proceeds under dye-free and operationally simple conditions with high enantioselectivity and efficiency. Mechanistic studies revealed that the isoxazole undergoes CPA-assisted photoexcitation and homolysis of the N–O bond to a triplet diradical. A subsequent C–C rotation prior to the C–N cyclization has been established as the enantio-determining step.