Resolution-free route to chiral 2,2′-bis(pyridin-2-yl)-1,1′-binaphthyl ligand: photochemical CpCo(CO)2-mediated cycloaddition of enantiopure 2,2′-dicyano-1,1′-binaphthyl with diynes

A resolution-free route to chiral 2,2′-bis(pyridin-2-yl)-1,1′-binaphthyl ligands 2 was developed for the first time based on the photochemical CpCo(CO)2-mediated cycloaddition reaction of enantiopure 2,2′-dicyano-1,1′-binaphthyl 3 with 1,6-heptadiyne, 1,7-octadiyne, 1,8-nonadiyne, and 2,8-decadiyne.