Expanding the family of bis-cyclometalated chiral-at-metal rhodium( iii ) catalysts with a benzothiazole derivative

Synthetic access to previously elusive single enantiomers of an octahedral chiral-at-metal rhodium(iii) complex containing two cyclometalated 2-phenylbenzothiazoles and two acetonitrile ligands is reported. The complex is a superior chiral Lewis acid catalyst compared to its benzoxazole congener which can be rationalized with a higher steric congestion around the coordination sites.