Asymmetric Copper-Catalyzed Carbozincation of Cyclopropenes en Route to the Formation of Diastereo- and Enantiomerically Enriched Polysubstituted Cyclopropanes

The enantioselective synthesis of cyclopropylzinc reagents has been achieved via a copper-catalyzed carbozincation of 3,3-disubstituted cyclopropenes with diorganozinc reagents. The obtained organozinc compounds can be easily functionalized with a broad range of electrophiles, including palladium-catalyzed cross-couplings, affording highly substituted cyclopropanes. The operationally simple procedure using very low quantities of a commercially available and inexpensive copper catalyst provides a new tool for the synthesis of highly enantioenriched cyclopropanes as single diastereoisomers.