Fluorination of dienamines generated by α-branched enals and 6′-hydroxy-9-amino-9-deoxy-epi-quinidine (30 mol %) with NSFI show excellent α-regioselectivity to construct allylic fluorides containing a highly stereocontrolled quaternary fluorinated carbon (E/Z ≥ 20/1 and up to 93% enantiometric excess (ee)). By DFT calculation, the quinuclidine moiety of the catalyst was shown to function as a coordinating group to promote a reaction at the proximal α-position, and the nonclassical CH hydrogen bond plays an important role in the high enantioselectivity.

We investigate the effects of water addition on a highly stereocontrolled fluorination of dienamine generated by α-branched enals and 6′-hydroxy-9-amino-9-deoxy-epi-quinidine with N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide (NFSI) in the presence of Brønsted acid both experimentally and theoretically. It is experimentally found that water addition to organic solvent significantly shortens the reaction time whereas excessive water addition decreases the enantiomeric excess. The results calculated with three-dimensional reference interaction site model self-consistent field (3D-RISM-SCF) method are in good agreement with the experimental ones. It is revealed that the shortness of reaction time is caused by the reactant destabilization and that the decrease in enantiomeric excess is due to the difference of hydration free energy between two transition states.

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