Inherently chiral calixarenes by a catalytic enantioselective desymmetrizing cross-dehydrogenative coupling

Under the catalysis of PdBr(2) and a chiral phosphoramidite ligand, the upper-rim mono (2-bromoaroyl)-substituted calix[4]arene derivatives underwent a facile enantioselective desymmetrization reaction to afford 9H-fluorene-embedded inherently chiral calixarenes in good yields with excellent enantioselectivities. The transannular dehydrogenative arene–arene coupling reaction proceeded most probably through an oxidative addition of the C(aryl)–Br bond to a ligated palladium catalyst followed by a sequence of an enantioselective 1,5-palladium migration and an intramolecular C–H arylation sequence. This new family of inherently chiral calixarenes possesses unique chiroptical properties thanks to their highly rigid structure induced by the 9H-fluorene segment.