New strategies for asymmetric photocatalysis: asymmetric organocatalytic/photoredox relay catalysis for efficient synthesis of polycyclic compounds containing vicinal amino alcohols

An asymmetric catalytic strategy in photocatalysis utilizing a chirality-induced approach through an organocatalytic/photoredox relay catalysis strategy is successfully achieved for the rapid construction of polycyclic compounds containing vicinal amino alcohols in a one-pot protocol. This methodology facilitates the efficient synthesis of diverse substituted polycyclic tetra-hydroquinoline and benzofuran-derived vicinal amino alcohols, each containing five consecutive chiral centers, with high yields, excellent diastereoselectivities and enantioselectivities (up to 95% yield, >20:1 dr and 98% ee), under mild reaction conditions driven by sequential bifunctional squaramide organocatalyst-catalyzed [4+2] annulation and photocatalyst-catalyzed ketyl radical addition cyclization reaction process. Furthermore, investigations into the stereoselectivity mechanism and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) experiments on free radical trapping have provided evidence for elucidating the detailed mechanism of chirality-induced processes and chiral intermediate conversions in this procedure.