Recently, the team led by Distinguished Professor Wang Shouguo at the College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, published a research paper in ACS Catalysis (Impact Factor: 13.1, JCR Q1, Top Journal). Titled "Rhodium-Catalyzed Regio- and Enantioselective Allylic C−H Amidation: NChlorocarbamates as Versatile Nitrene Precursors." Prof. Shou-Guo Wang served as the sole corresponding author, with postdoctoral fellow Xianglin Luo as the first author. Shenzhen University is listed as the only corresponding institution.

The direct conversion of inert C–H bonds into chiral amines represents a compelling challenge in organic synthesis. The asymmetric nitrene transfer strategy, by virtue of its atom economy, offers an ideal platform for the efficient construction of chiral amines. This approach typically proceeds via metal nitrene intermediates; however, conventional nitrene precursors are often highly reactive and prone to decomposition, leading to poor reaction controllability. Although the recent development of alternative precursors such as azides and dioxazolones has advanced the field of asymmetric C–H amination, simultaneously controlling reactivity to achieve high chemo- and enantioselectivity remains a fundamental hurdle. Recently, Professor Wang Shouguo's team reported a class of stable and efficient nitrene precursors—N-chlorocarbamates—that effectively circumvent the limitations of existing methods. In combination with a chiral Cp^xRh(III) catalytic system, they successfully achieved the catalytic enantioselective allylic C–H amidation of simple unactivated alkenes, enabling the direct synthesis of chiral allylic amines. This method demonstrates excellent chemo-, regio-, and enantioselectivity (yields up to 94%, branch/linear ratio >20:1, 99% ee). Furthermore, this strategy features broad substrate scope, as validated by the successful preparation of various intermediates for pharmaceutical molecules.

This work was supported by grants from Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2024A1515011368); Guangdong Science and Technology Department Program (2024QN11C213); Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (KQTD20221101093605019); Scientific Foundation for Youth Scholars of Shenzhen University (868-000001033009). S.-G.W. is indebted to Shenzhen University for providing a starting grant. We also thank the Instrumental Analysis Center of Shenzhen University (Xili Campus) for NMR measurements.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscatal.6c01650