Inversion or Retention? Effects of Acidic Additives on the Stereochemical Course in Enantiospecific Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling of α-(Acetylamino)benzylboronic Esters

The stereochemical course of the stereospecific Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of enantioenriched α-(acetylamino)benzylboronic esters with aryl bromides can be switched by the choice of acidic additives in the presence of a Pd/XPhos catalyst system. Highly enantiospecific, invertive C-C bond formation takes place with the use of phenol as an additive. In contrast, high enantiospecificity for retention of configuration is attained in the presence of Zr(Oi-Pr)(4)·i-PrOH as an additive.