A MgII -catalyzed desymmetrization reaction of meso-aziridines with hydroxylamines has been disclosed for the first time. A series of novel chiral 1,2-diamine skeletons were obtained in good yields and enantioselectivities. The reaction employed magnesium catalysis generated in situ from a simple oxazoline-OH chiral ligand. Obviously, the diverse structures of the obtained chiral 1,2-diamine compounds could allow them to be potential chiral ligands in future catalytic asymmetric synthesis studies.
Keywords: asymmetric synthesis; diamines; hydroxylamine; magnesium; oxazoline.
© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.