Enantioselective Crossed Photocycloadditions of Styrenic Olefins by Lewis Acid Catalyzed Triplet Sensitization.
Zachary D MillerByung Joo LeeTehshik P YoonPublished in: Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) (2017)
The synthesis of unsymmetrical cyclobutanes by controlled heterodimerization of olefins remains a substantial challenge, particularly in an enantiocontrolled fashion. Shown herein is that chiral Lewis acid catalyzed triplet sensitization enables the synthesis of highly enantioenriched diarylcyclobutanes by photocycloaddition of structurally varied 2'-hydroxychalcones with a range of styrene coupling partners. The utility of this reaction is demonstrated through the direct synthesis of a representative norlignan cyclobutane natural product.