Synthesis of furanose incorporated n-heterocyclic carbenes.

Abstract

Recent applications of chiral N-Heterocyclic Carbenes (NHCs) in asymmetric reactions have shown significant improvements in regio- and stereo-selectivities in metal catalyzed reactions. Utilizing carbohydrates as a readily available source of stereocentres and tunable steric bulk, a total of one mono-furanose and two di-furanose incorporated NHCs have been proposed and synthesized. With the successful synthesis of these NHCs, we hope to obtain the corresponding transition-metal complexes and subject them as catalysts to induce better regio- and stereo-selectivities in asymmetric reactions.