Catalytic atroposelective synthesis

Atropisomeric architectures are increasingly encountered in modern materials and medicinally important compounds. More importantly, they are now a characteristic of broadly useful chiral ligands and organocatalysts. Over the past decade, substantial advancements have been made in enhancing the accessibility of major classes of atropisomers through the refinement of existing strategies and the introduction of contemporary concepts for catalytic atroposelective synthesis. This synthetic capability enables the expansion of chemical space and facilitates the preparation of valuable atropisomeric scaffolds. Here we review the state of the art in the asymmetric synthesis of atropisomers with the help of selected examples. Focus will be placed on the strategies that have emerged rapidly in recent years, and that are characterized by high versatility and modularity. Additionally, the incorporation of emerging synthetic tools and representative scaffolds are discussed, alongside future directions in this research domain. Atropisomerism is an expanding target of asymmetric catalysis. In this Review, recent advances in atroposelective synthesis under catalytic control are highlighted with a focus on general strategies that provide high versatility and modularity.