Modular enantioselective assembly of multi-substituted boron-stereogenic BODIPYs

Boron dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs) are some of the most popular and indispensable tetracoordinate boron compounds and have found widespread applications owing to their excellent spectroscopic and photophysical properties. BODIPYs possessing boron-stereogenic centres are scarce, and strategies for the synthesis of enantioenriched boron-stereogenic BODIPYs with structural diversity remain underdeveloped. In theory, the BODIPY core skeleton has several sites that could be decorated with different substituents. However, due to the lack of general and efficient asymmetric synthetic methods, this potential diversity of chiral BODIPYs has not been exploited. Here we demonstrate a modular enantioselective assembly of multi-substituted boron-stereogenic BODIPYs in high efficiency with excellent enantioselectivities. Key to the success is the Pd-catalysed desymmetric Suzuki cross-coupling, enabling the precise discrimination of the two α C–Cl bonds of the designed prochiral BODIPY scaffold, giving access to a wide range of highly functionalized boron-stereogenic BODIPYs. Derivatizations, photophysical properties and applications in chiral recognition of the obtained optical BODIPYs are further explored. Boron dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs) have found widespread applications owing to their spectroscopic and photophysical properties, but strategies for the synthesis of enantioenriched boron-stereogenic BODIPYs are lacking. Now a modular enantioselective assembly of multi-substituted boron-stereogenic BODIPYs via a Pd-catalysed desymmetric Suzuki coupling has been developed, giving access to a range of highly functionalized chiral BODIPYs.