Synthetic and mechanistic studies on asymmetric cyanohydrin synthesis using a titanium(salen) bimetallic catalyst

A bimetallic titanium(salen) complex 1 was found to catalyse the asymmetric addition of ethyl cyanoformate to aldehydes. Best results were obtained using 5 mol% of the catalyst at −40 °C and under these conditions, both aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes were converted into cyanohydrin carbonates with up to 99% enantiomeric excess. The same catalyst could also be used to catalyse the asymmetric addition of potassium cyanide to aldehydes in the presence of propionic anhydride, leading to cyanohydrin esters. Mechanistic studies showed that the enantiomeric excess of the product increased during the early stages of this reaction. However, by adding a ‘sacrificial aldehyde’ this effect could be eliminated. The structure of the catalyst in solution was investigated using variable concentration, variable temperature and variable solvent NMR studies. These experiments showed that the catalyst exists as a mixture of monometallic 4 and bimetallic 1 species, a result which is consistent with previous mechanistic studies on the asymmetric addition of trimethylsilyl cyanide to aldehydes and ketones catalysed by the same catalyst. A mechanistic rationale for all of these observations is reported.     

Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of glycine imino ester using a chiral phase-transfer catalyst

Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of the glycine imino ester 1a has been developed using a chiral quaternary ammonium salt 3d without chiral phosphine ligands. The proper choice of the achiral Pd ligand, P(OPh)3, is important to achieve high enantioselectivity. By this method with the dual catalysts, numerous enantiomerically enriched alpha-allylic amino acids 4a-h could be prepared with comparable to higher enantioselectivity than that of the conventional asymmetric alkylation of 1a. In addition, the Pd-catalyzed reaction of 1a with 1-phenyl-2-propenyl acetate 2i afforded the branch product 6 with high enantio- and diastereoselectivity (>95% de, 85% ee).     

Construction of a new asymmetric reaction site: asymmetric 1,4-addition of thiol using pentagonal bipyramidal Hf(salen) complex as catalyst

Pentagonal bipyramidal Hf(salen) complex 1 was found to serve as a catalyst for 1,4-addition reaction of thiol to N-(2-alkenoyl)-2-oxazolidinones.     

Catalytic asymmetric alkylation of α-cyanocarboxylates and acetoacetates using a phase-transfer catalyst

The catalytic asymmetric alkylation of α-cyanocarboxylates and acetoacetates with an alkyl halide was performed under phase-transfer conditions to afford compounds which have a chiral quaternary carbon with up to 97% and 94% ee, respectively. As applications of this method, chiral 2-oxindole derivatives and a β-lactam derivative were synthesized.     

Mechanistic studies of the sensitized photoreduction of bis(acetylacetonato)copper(II) by phenylalkyl ketones

Bis(acetylacetonato)copper(II) (Cu(acac)₂) interacts with both the triplet excited state and the triplet biradical of phenylalkyl ketones which undergo the Norrish type II reaction. Mechanistic studies by static quenching methods show that the triplet biradicals interact with the paramagnetic copper species, leading to the preferential formation of cyclobutanols without the formation of new products; in the presence of Ph₃P the former interaction causes the known reduction of Cu(acac)₂) to Cu(acac)(Ph₃P)₂, with a rate constant of about 6 × 10⁹ M⁻¹ s⁻¹. It is shown that Ph₃P interacts with one reactive intermediate, the triplet excited state ketone. The results of extensive kinetic analysis strongly support the proposed reaction mechanism.     

Regioselective and enantiospecific rhodium-catalyzed allylic alkylation reactions using copper(I) enolates: synthesis of (-)-sugiresinol dimethyl ether

The transition metal-catalyzed allylic alkylation represents a fundamentally important cross-coupling reaction for the construction of ternary carbon stereogenic centers. We have developed a regioselective and enantiospecific rhodium-catalyzed allylic alkylation of acyclic unsymmetrical allylic alcohol derivatives using copper(I) enolates to prepare beta-substituted ketones. This protocol represents a convenient asymmetric Claisen rearrangement surrogate in which alpha-substituted enolates permit the introduction of an additional stereogenic center. The synthetic utility of this transformation was highlighted in the construction of a trans-1,2-disubstituted cyclohexene and the total synthesis of (-)-sugiresinol dimethyl ether. Finally, we anticipate that copper(I) enolates may prove useful nucleophiles in related metal-catalyzed reactions.     

trans-Cyclopropyl beta-amino acid derivatives via asymmetric cyclopropanation using a (Salen)Ru(II) catalyst

trans-Cyclopropyl beta-amino acid derivatives can be synthesized in five steps with excellent enantioselectivities using a chiral (Salen)Ru(II) cyclopropanation catalyst in the key asymmetry-induction step. This facile synthesis proceeds with high overall yield and can be used to prepare a number of carbamate-protected (Cbz and Boc are demonstrated) beta-amino acid derivatives.     

An improved catalyst for the asymmetric arylation of ketone enolates

A new catalyst system for the enantioselective alpha-arylation of ketones is reported. This catalyst, prepared from Pd(2)(dba)(3) and a bulky dialkylphosphino-binaphthyl ligand, is able to effect the asymmetric arylation of ketone enolates with aryl bromides utilizing NaO(t)()Bu as base. These new catalysts enjoy much higher reactivity than previous systems; arylation reactions could be effected at room temperature with only 2 mol % of the Pd catalyst. The coupling of alpha-alkyl-alpha'-protected cyclopentanones proceeded in high yield, and the resulting quaternary stereogenic center was installed in up to 94% ee.     

Synthesis of novel quaternary amino acids using molybdenum-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation

The Mo-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation using azlactones provides extraordinary levels of selectivity. Thus, a wide range of cinnamyl-type substrates react with 2-methyl and 2-benzyl azlactones to give only the product resulting from attack at the more substituted carbon. Using other alkyl substituents such as 2-methylthioethyl, isobutyl, allyl, and isopropyl provides products that still retain excellent regioselectivity but small quantities of the linear product are also observed. In all cases, excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivity of the branched alkylated product are observed. This new asymmetric reaction provides ready access to unusual quarternary amino acids, important building blocks for biological applications. The reactions complements the Pd AAA wherein the cinnamyl substrate leads to only the product of attack at the primary terminus of the allyl moiety.     

Catalytic asymmetric allylation of aldehydes using the chiral (salen)chromium(III) complexes

The enantioselective addition of allylstannanes to glyoxylates and glyoxals, as well as simple aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes, catalyzed by chiral (salen)Cr(III) complexes, has been studied. The reaction proceeded smoothly for the reactive 2-oxoaldehydes and allyltributyltin in the presence of small amounts (1-2 mol %) of (salen)Cr(III)BF₄ (1b) under mild, undemanding conditions. However, in the case of other simple aldehydes, the use of high-pressure conditions is required to obtain good yields. Classic chromium catalyst 1b, easily prepared from the commercially available chloride complex 1a, affords homoallylic alcohols usually in good yield and with enantiomeric purity of 50-79% ee. The stereochemical results are rationalized on the basis of the proposed model.     

Mechanistic aspects of the copolymerization reaction of carbon dioxide and epoxides,using a chiral salen chromium chloride catalyst

The air-stable, chiral (salen)Cr(III)Cl complex (3), where H(2)salen = N,N'-bis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-salicylidene)-1,2-cyclohexene diamine, has been shown to be an effective catalyst for the coupling of cyclohexene oxide and carbon dioxide to afford poly(cyclohexenylene carbonate), along with a small quantity of its trans-cyclic carbonate. The thus produced polycarbonate contained >99% carbonate linkages and had a M(n) value of 8900 g/mol with a polydispersity index of 1.2 as determined by gel permeation chromatography. The turnover number (TON) and turnover frequency (TOF) values of 683 g of polym/g of Cr and 28.5 g of polym/g of Cr/h, respectively for reactions carried out at 80 degrees C and 58.5 bar pressure increased by over 3-fold upon addition of 5 equiv of the Lewis base cocatalyst, N-methyl imidazole. Although this chiral catalyst is well documented for the asymmetric ring-opening (ARO) of epoxides, in this instance the copolymer produced was completely atactic as illustrated by (13)C NMR spectroscopy. Whereas the mechanism for the (salen)Cr(III)-catalyzed ARO of epoxides displays a squared dependence on [catalyst], which presumably is true for the initiation step of the copolymerization reaction, the rate of carbonate chain growth leading to copolymer or cyclic carbonate formation is linearly dependent on [catalyst]. This was demonstrated herein by way of in situ measurements at 80 degrees C and 58.5 bar pressure. Hence, an alternative mechanism for copolymer production is operative, which is suggested to involve a concerted attack of epoxide at the axial site of the chromium(III) complex where the growing polymer chain for epoxide ring-opening resides. Preliminary investigations of this (salen)Cr(III)-catalyzed system for the coupling of propylene oxide and carbon dioxide reveal that although cyclic carbonate is the main product provided at elevated temperatures, at ambient temperature polycarbonate formation is dominant. A common reaction pathway for alicyclic (cyclohexene oxide) and aliphatic (propylene oxide) carbon dioxide coupling is thought to be in effect, where in the latter instance cyclic carbonate production has a greater temperature dependence compared to copolymer formation.     

Mechanistic studies of copper(I)-catalyzed allylic amination

The reactions of nitrosobenzene and N,N'-diethyl-4-nitrosoaniline with [Cu(CH3CN)4]PF6 provide novel Cu(I) complexes, [Cu(PhNO)3]PF6 (1) and [Cu(Et2NPhNO)3]PF6 (2); in 2 the copper atom is N-coordinated to the nitrosoarenes in a distorted trigonal planar geometry. Complex 1 is strongly implicated as a reactive intermediate in the Cu(I)-catalyzed allylic amination of olefins based on (i) its isolation from the catalytic reaction, (ii) its stoichiometric regioselective allylic amination of alpha-methyl styrene (AMS), (iii) the non-involvement of free PhNO in its amination of AMS, and (iv) its function as a catalyst for the amination of alkenes from phenylhydroxylamine. The reaction between AMS and 1 (80 degrees C, dioxane) is first order in both alkene and 1. Relative rate studies of the reaction of 1 with para substituted AMS derivatives gives a Hammett rho value of -0.035. Alkene adducts isolated from the reaction of 1 with styrene and alpha-methylstyrene are formulated as [(PhNO)3Cu(eta(2)-alkene)]PF6 (7,8) on the basis of spectroscopic characterization and thermolysis. PM3 and DFT MO calculations support the role of [(alkene)Cu(RNO)3]+ and (eta(1)- or eta(3)-allyl)Cu(RNO)2(RNHOH)+ complexes as probable catalytic intermediates and address the origin of the distinctive reaction regioselectivity. A mechanistic scheme is proposed which is consistent with the accumulated experimental and computational results.     

Structures of (ester) enolates and related compounds

The side reactions in the anionic polymerization of (meth)acrylates initiated by organolithium compounds raise the question about favorable interactions between organolithium and carbonyl compounds in general and in this polymerization reaction. The results of several crystal structures of lithium(sodium) (ester) enolates without or with other molecules clearly demonstrate the favorable formation of homo- and mixed aggregates, respectively. It is also shown how different gegenions (ZnBr⁺, R₄N⁺, etc.) influence the overall structure and the structure of the anion.     

Differential-pulse voltammetric studies on some binary and ternary copper(II) amino acid complexes

Some selected binary and ternary copper(II) amino acid complexes are investigated by differential-pulse voltammetry and the results are discussed. These results are compared with cyclic voltammetric results of the same systems.     

Catalytic asymmetric protonation of lithium enolates using amino acid derivatives as chiral proton sources

[reaction: see text] Asymmetric protonation of lithium enolates was examined using commercially available amino acid derivatives as chiral proton sources. Among the amino acid derivatives tested, Nbeta-l-aspartyl-l-phenylalanine methyl ester was found to cause significant asymmetric induction in the protonation of lithium enolates. The enantiomeric excess (up to 88% ee) of the products obtained in the presence of a catalytic amount of the chiral proton source was higher than those obtained in the stoichiometric reaction.     

Oxidation of carbon monoxide over a copper(II) oxide catalyst

Transient FTIR observations in conjuction with gas phase CO conversion measurements indicate an adsorbed CO species which seems not to participate directly in the oxidation reaction over a silica supported copper(II) oxide catalyst. This observation together with order of reaction determinations suggest that oxidation occurs via an Eley-Rideal mechanism.

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CO CO, (II), . , , , -.

     

Asymmetric olefin aziridination using a newly designed Ru(CO)(salen) complex as the catalyst

Highly enantioselective and good to high-yielding aziridination of conjugated and non-conjugated terminal olefins and cyclic olefins was achieved using a newly designed Ru(CO)(salen) complex as the catalyst in the presence of SESN(3) under mild conditions.