C1-Symmetric Dicyclopentadienes as New Chiral Diene Ligands for Asymmetric Rhodium-Catalyzed Arylation of N-Tosylarylimines

Monosubstituted C(1)-symmetric dicyclopentadienes as a new class of diene ligands have been developed for asymmetric arylation of N-tosylarylimines in excellent yields (98-99%) with high enantioselectivities (90-96%). The preparation of these diene ligands relied on an efficient lipase-catalyzed resolution as the key step.