Iridium-Catalyzed Enantioselective Hydrofunctionalization of Allenes

Abstract

Since the earliest days, humans have relied on natural products for medicines and materials, but their limitations drove the development of synthetic methodologies to access complex molecules with improved properties. The advent of transition metal catalysis revolutionized bond formation under mild and sustainable conditions, while asymmetric catalysis enabled the enantioselective construction of challenging tertiary and quaternary stereocenters. This thesis focuses on developing transition metal catalyzed C-H and N-H bond additions across allenes to create complex chiral molecules. In Section I, an intramolecular Iridium(I) catalyzed exo-hydroarylation of allenyl-tethered pyrroles and indoles afforded polycyclic products with quaternary centers, enabling a concise formal synthesis of Rhazinilam.