Rhodium(III)-catalyzed C–H activation en route to atroposelective [4 + 2] annulative coupling with α-diazo β-ketoesters has been realized, affording axially chiral phenanthrenes in good to excellent enantioselectivity. A combination of experimental and computational studies revealed a nontraditional stereodivergent–convergent chiral induction mode. (ACS Catal. 2022, 12, 13884−13896)
Congratulations to Panjie Hu. Special thanks also go to our collaborators.