Catalytic enantioselective rearrangements and cycloadditions involving ylides from diazo compounds

摘要

This review summarizes the background and state of the art (as ofJune 2000) of catalytic enantioselective rearrange- metns andcycloadditions involving ylides from diazo compounds. The field isstill in its infancy, as until a few years ago it was not consideredlikely that a catalyst, having decomposed a diazo compound to form anylide, would still be able to exert an influence on subsequenttransformations of the ylide. Recent developments have shown this notto be the case and a new era of synthetically important ylidetransformations in organic chemistry has begun where appropriatemetal-chiral (nonracemic) ligand combina- tions are starting to bedeveloped to render these trans- formations enantioselective.