Chiral Phosphorus-Olefin Ligands for the Rh(I) -Catalyzed Asymmetric Addition of Aryl Boronic Acids to Electron-Deficient Olefins.

New chiral phosphorus-olefin hybrid ligands derived from the rigid "privileged" l-proline have been conveniently prepared and applied in the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric arylation of electron-deficient olefins with arylboronic acids at room temperature; this reaction provides the desired products in excellent yields and high enantioselectivities. The origin of observed stereoselectivity has been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.