Atropselective alkylation of biaryl compounds by means of transition metal-catalyzed C-H/olefin coupling

The reaction of 2-(1-naphthyl)-3-methylpyridine with olefins in the presenc e of [RhCl(coe)(2)](2) and PCy3 as the catalyst resulted in the alkylation of the naphthyl ring at the 2-position in good yield. The replacement of PC y3 with the chiral ferrocenyl phosphine, (R),(S)-PPFOMe, as the ligand resu lted in atropselective alkylation of the naphthylpyridine derivatives. Ethy lene reacted with the biaryl compounds to give the corresponding addition p roducts in moderate yields with fair to good ee's (up to 49% ee). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.