Enantio- and diastereoselective cyclopropanation of CF3-imidoyl sulfoxonium ylides by chiral-at-metal Rh(III) complex

An enantio- and diastereoselective cyclopropanation of CF 3 -imidoyl sulfoxonium ylides with α,β-unsaturated 2-acyl imidazoles catalyzed by chiral-at-metal Rh(III) complex has been demonstrated for the first time. This work provides a practical approach for assembling 1,2,3-trisubstituted chiral cyclopropane with CF 3 -imidoyl structural units under mild reaction conditions, which has the advantages including broad substrates and good functional tolerance. In addition, a scale-up experiment and the synthetic transformations of the cycloadducts further highlight the synthetic utility.