A Case for Asymmetric Hydrozirconation

Hydrozirconation of cis-2-butene with Cp*ZrHCl[N(t-Bu)C(Me)N(Et)], generated in situ through hydrogenolysis of Cp*ZrCl(SiMe2Ph)[N(t-Bu)C(Me)N(Et)] (5), proceeds in high yield to produce a 1:2 mixture of the kinetically stable, diastereomeric sec-butyl complexes, 3a and 3b. Hydrozirconation of trans-2-butene under identical conditions provides a 2:1 mixture of 3a and 3b. Isolation of diastereomerically pure 3a was achieved through reaction of Cp*ZrCl2[N(t-Bu)C(Me)N(Et)] (4) with sec-butyllithium to provide a 2:1 ratio of 3a and 3b, followed by fractional crystallization. Crystallographic analysis of 3a establishes the relative configuration of the sec-butyl group with respect to the chiral zirconium center, thereby permitting construction of diastereomeric transition states that explain the origin of high face selectivity in the hydrozirconation of cis-2-butene. Finally, both iodinative zirconium-carbon bond cleavage and insertion of tert-butyl isocyanide into the zirconium-carbon bond of the sec-butyl group of 3a were found to proceed in high yield and with retention of the secondary alkyl structure. Together, these results provide a critical platform upon which efforts directed toward the asymmetric hydrozirconation of alkenes can be based.