The rhodiu
m and iridiu
m Lewis-acid cations [(
![](/i<font color=)
mages/gifchars/eta.gif" BORDER=0 >
5-C
5Me
5)M{(
R)-Prophos}(H
2O)]
2+ ((
R)-Prophos= 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane) efficiently catalyze the enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition ofnitrones to
methacrolein. Reactions occur with perfect endo selectivity and with enantio
meric excesses upto 96%. Inter
mediates [(
![](/i<font color=)
mages/gifchars/eta.gif" BORDER=0 >
5-C
5Me
5)M{(
R)-Prophos}(
methacrolein)](SbF
6)
2 (M = Rh (
3), Ir (
4)) have beenspectroscopically and crystallographically characterized. The nitrone co
mplexes [(
![](/i<font color=)
mages/gifchars/eta.gif" BORDER=0 >
5-C
5Me
5)M{(
R)-Prophos}(nitrone)](SbF
6)
2 (M = Rh, nitrone = 1-pyrrolidine
N-oxide (
5), 2,3,4,5,-tetrahydropyridine
N-oxide (
6), 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline
N-oxide (
7); M = Ir, nitrone = 1-pyrrolidine
N-oxide (
8)) have been isolated andcharacterized including the X-ray crystal structure of co
mpounds
6 and
8. The equilibriu
m between
methacrolein and nitrone co
mplexes is also studied. [Ir]-adduct co
mplexes are detected by
31P NMRspectroscopy. A catalytic cycle involving [M]-
methacrolein, [M]-nitrone, as well as [M]-adduct species isproposed, the first co
mplex being the true catalyst. The absolute configuration of the adduct 4-
methyl-2-
N,3-diphenyl-isoxazolidine-4-carbaldehyde (
9) was deter
mined through its (
S)-(-)-
![](/i<font color=)
mages/gifchars/alpha.gif" BORDER=0>-
methylbenzyla
minederivative diastereo
mer. Structural para
meters strongly suggest that the disposition of the
methacrolein in
3 and
4 is fixed by CH/
![](/i<font color=)
mages/gifchars/pi.gif" BORDER=0 > attractive interactions between the
pro-
S phenyl ring of the Ph
2PCH(CH
3)
moietyof the (
R)-Prophos ligand and the CHO aldehyde proton. Proton NMR data indicate that this confor
mationis
maintained in solution. Fro
m the structural data and the results of catalysis the origin of theenantioselectivity is discussed.