Advances in Exploring Cyclopentadienyl (Cp) Rhodium Catalysts Featuring Diastereotopic or Enantiotopic Cp Faces for Asymmetric C–H Activation

Abstract Chiral cyclopentadienyl rhodium (CpRh) complexes have emerged as a class of powerful catalysts for enantioselective C–H activation reactions. In terms of Cp ligand development, the mainstream is to design chiral ligands with C 2 symmetry in order to avoid the problem of Cp face selectivity during their metalation with rhodium. In recent years, CpRh catalysts with diastereotopic or enantiotopic Cp faces were also revealed and successfully applied in asymmetric C–H activation. These advances are summarized in this short review together with perspectives for their future development. 1 Introduction 2 Cp Ligands with Diastereotopic Cp Faces 3 Cp Ligands with Enantiotopic Cp Faces 4 Conclusion and Outlook