Exploiting natural complexity for substrate controlled regioselectivity and stereoselectivity in tantalum catalysed hydroaminoalkylation†

Naturally occurring and structurally diverse alkene-containing substrates, terpenes, provided a platform for establishing chemo-, regio-, and diastereoselective reactivity in tantalum catalysed hydroaminoalkylation. Naturally derived 1,3-butadienes revealed the unique regio- and diastereoselective (Z)-1,4-addition products accessible from isoprene and β-myrcene by hydroaminoalkylation. Selective terpene functionalisation, within an industrially produced turpentine mixture, demonstrates functionalisation specificity of β-pinene and limonene. Lastly, sesquiterpene functionalisation using β-caryophyllene and humulene provide rare examples of trisubstituted alkene reactivity in hydroaminoalkylation, by leveraging strain-release and stereoelectronic effects to control chemoselectivity. As a result of these reactivity studies using natural substrates, new tools for understanding alkene electronic, strain, and stereoelectronic effects on chemo- and diastereoselectivity outcomes have revealed new mechanistic insights into hydroaminoalkylation.