A series of new rhodium(I) complexes[L*Rh(NBD)Cl] (L* = chiral cyclic phosphonitewitha fused 1,4-dioxane or cyclobutane ring in the backbone) wassynthesized
via the corresponding borane-phosphonite adducts. They turned out to be highlyactive catalysts inthe asymmetric hydrosilylation of ketones in a broad temperature range.Evaluation of thetemperature dependent measurements according to the Eyring formalismdisclosed anonlinear relationship between ln
P (
P = ratioof the enantiomeric product alcohols)
andthe reciprocal of temperature marked by the occurrence of points ofinversion in the middletemperature region between -5
and 30
C. These findingsindicate a complexly composedselection mechanism that is controlled by at least two relevant partialsteps. Furthermore,by comparison of different catalysts based on a 1,4-dioxane, acyclobutane, or a 1,3-dioxolanering in the backbone of L*, the conformational properties of the lig
andbackbone were revealedto be a crucial feature determining not only the extent but also thedirection of chiralitytransfer, thus providing a versatile tool for the construction ofstereocomplementary lig
ands.Accordingly, by proper choice of the lig
and backbone
and thetemperature, fairly goodenantioselectivities in the hydrosilylation of rather different ketoneslike acetophenone (82%ee)
and pivalophenone (86% ee) can be achieved.