Rhodium‐catalyzed Asymmetric Ring‐opening Reactions of N‐Boc‐azabenzonorbornadiene with N‐Substituted Piperazine Nucleophiles

Asymmetric ring‐opening reactions of N‐Boc‐azabenzonorbornadiene with N‐substituted piperazine nucleophiles in the presence of 5 mol% of [Rh(COD)Cl]2 and 10 mol% of chiral ligand, (R,S)‐PPF‐P‐t‐Bu2, gave the corresponding 1,2‐diamine product in moderate to excellent yields (up to 95%) with reasonable enantiomeric excesses (up to 70% ee). The results showed that the nature of ligands had significant influence on the yields and the enantiomeric excesses.