Asymmetric Deoxygenative Functionalization of Carboxylic Acids and Alcohols

Given that carboxylic acid derivatives and alcohols are abundant in a wide range of building blocks and complex molecules, catalytic diversification of these functional groups is highly sought-after.  To this end, recently employing a deoxygenative approach for modifying these oxygenated species has gained momentum.  However, to date, asymmetric variants of these methods have been underdeveloped and often require precious metal catalysts.  This presentation will include our efforts addressing these challenges.  The Kim Group at Clemson University has developed the following: 1) Enantioselective deoxy-amino-cyanation of carboxyl groups or amides via Ti-multicatalysis, and 2) SuFEx (sulfur fluoride exchange)-enabled deoxygenative diversification of alcohols.