Cover Picture: Journal of the Chinese Chemical Society 7/2012

Repeated reaction between chiral quaternary ammonium halide dimer and disodium disulfonate gave the ionic polymer, which contains chiral quaternary ammonium sulfonate structure as a repeating unit. This chiral ionic polymer showed an excellent catalytic activity in asymmetric benzylation reaction. With the chiral ionic polymer catalysts, high level of enantioselectivities up to 97% ee were attained. For more details on this figure, please see pp 815～821 in this issue.     

Molecular design of chiral quaternary ammonium polymers for asymmetric catalysis applications

Repeated reaction between a chiral quaternary ammonium dimer and disodium disulfonate gave a chiral ionic polymer, which showed excellent catalytic activity in the asymmetric benzylation of N-diphenylmethylene glycine tert-butyl ester.     

手性离子液体研究进展

对近几年来手性离子液体的研究进展进行了全面综述,这些手性离子液体包括咪唑鎓盐、季铵盐、噁唑啉盐、噻唑啉盐、吡啶盐等;重点评述了手性离子液体的合成以及它们在有机化学中的应用,如作为反应溶剂和相转移催化剂、手性溶剂,手性助剂和手性位移试剂等。     

Synthesis of chiral polymers containing thioetherified cinchonidinium repeating units and their application to asymmetric catalysis

A thiol-ene reaction of dithiol and two equivalents of cinchonidine afforded a thioetherified cinchonidine dimer. The dimer was treated with benzyl bromide to give a quaternary ammonium dimer. An ion exchange reaction of the cinchonidinium dimer and disodium disulfonate gave polymers containing chiral quaternary ammonium repeating units in their main-chain structures. Another type of chiral polymer was synthesized by quaternization polymerization. Repeated quaternization reactions between the thioetherified cinchonidine dimer and dihalides yielded chiral polymers containing cinchonidinium structures in their main chains. Both of these chiral polymers were successfully used as catalysts for the asymmetric alkylation of N-diphenylmethylene glycine tert-butyl ester. The chiral cinchonidinium polymers explored in this study showed excellent catalytic activity in asymmetric alkylation reactions and were reused several times without loss of activity.     

Highly active polymeric organocatalyst: Chiral ionic polymers prepared from 10,11‐didehydrogenated cinchonidinium salt

Since few examples of 10,11‐didehydrogenated (3‐ethynyl) cinchona alkaloids have been utilized as organocatalysts in asymmetric reaction, we synthesized 10,11‐didehydrogenated cinchonidine. The 3‐vinyl group of cinchonidine was transformed into a 3‐ethynyl functionality. Based on the resulting 10,11‐didehydrogenated cinchonidine, the corresponding quaternary ammonium salt and its dimers were prepared. The ion‐exchange reaction between the quaternary ammonium salt and sodium sulfonate produced the quaternary ammonium sulfonate as a stable ionic compound. Chiral ionic polymers were then synthesized by the ion‐exchange polymerization of the 10,11‐didehydrogenated cinchonidinium salt dimer and a disulfonate. The chiral ionic polymers were found to be capable of efficiently catalyzing the asymmetric alkylation of N‐(diphenylmethylene)glycine tert‐butyl ester. The enantioselectivities obtained with the polymeric catalysts were higher than those obtained with the corresponding monomeric catalyst. Dimers of 10,11‐didehydrogenated cinchonidinium salts were prepared. Treatment of the dimer with disodium disulfonate gave the chiral ionic polymers, which showed high catalytic activity in asymmetric benzylation of N‐(diphenylmethylen)glycine tert‐butyl ester. The polymeric catalysts were reused several times without the loss of catalytic activity. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 621–627     

新型二茂铁甲基季铵盐离子液体的合成与表征

以二茂铁与二甲胺为原料合成了碘化二茂铁甲基季铵盐,再经复分解反应得到乙酸二茂铁甲基季铵盐离子液体;表征了离子液体的结构,测定了其熔点和溶解性.结果表明,合成的乙酸二茂铁甲基季铵盐离子化合物熔点低于100℃,是一种新型的二茂铁甲基季铵盐离子液体.     

Redox monomer ionic liquid based on quaternary ammonium: From electrochemistry to polymer brushes

Bifunctional quaternary ammonium ionic liquid bearing redox and polymerisable units was synthesized. The electrochemical investigations of the ferrocene monomer ionic liquid were performed. Following that, surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) was used to build polymer brushes onto the electrode surface. The presence of the Poly(ferrocenyl quaternary ammonium) was evidenced by surface and electrochemical analysis. The latter exhibits high electron transfer rate and the presence of ions within the polymer framework leads to record the attached ferrocenyl redox signal in solution without adding supporting electrolyte. Finally, the wettability of the surface was modulated by electrochemical switch and by anion exchange within the polymer.     

Chiral ammonium betaines: a bifunctional organic base catalyst for asymmetric Mannich-type reaction of alpha-nitrocarboxylates

A chiral ammonium betaine, an intramolecular ion-pairing quaternary ammonium aryloxide 3, has been designed and its vast potential as an enantioselective organic base catalyst has been successfully demonstrated in the highly enantioselective direct Mannich-type reaction of alpha-substituted alpha-nitrocarboxylates 2 with various N-Boc imines 1. The present study provides a conceptually new approach toward the design of bifunctional, chiral quaternary ammonium salts and their utilizations as a homogeneous organic molecular catalyst.     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of axially chiral o-iodoanilides by phase-transfer catalyzed alkylations

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of axially chiral o-iodoacrylanilides and N-allyl-o-iodoanilides as useful chiral building blocks was achieved via chiral quaternary ammonium salt-catalyzed N-alkylations under phase-transfer conditions. The transition-state structure for the present reaction is discussed on the basis of the X-ray crystal structure of ammonium anilide.     

Diastereoselective aziridination of chiral electron-deficient olefins with N-chloro-N-sodiocarbamates catalyzed by chiral quaternary ammonium salts

Chiral quaternary ammonium salt-catalyzed diastereoselective aziridination of electron-deficient olefins that possess a chiral auxiliary with N-chloro-N-sodiocarbamates was developed. The key to high stereoselectivity was found to be the employment of the "matching" stereochemical combination of chiral auxiliary/ammonium salt. For example, when 3-phenyl-(4R,7S)-4-methyl-7-isopropyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydroindazole (L-menthopyrazole) as a chiral auxiliary and a cinchonidine-derived chiral ammonium salt as a catalyst were applied to the reaction system, perfect diastereoselectivity was realized. Furthermore, the preparation of enantiomerically pure aziridines by removal of the chiral auxiliary was demonstrated.     

Highly enantioselective dimerization of alpha,beta-enones catalyzed by a rigid quaternary ammonium salt

[reaction: see text] The chiral quaternary ammonium salt 1 served as a phase-transfer catalyst for the enantioselective dimerization of alpha,beta-enones, providing a route for the asymmetric syntheses of chiral 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds and alpha-alkylated gamma-keto acids.     

Electrochemical recognition of charged species using quaternary ammonium binaphthyl salts.

The effects of ionic analytes on the electrochemical properties of quaternary ammonium binaphthyl salts are described in this work. The stability of the binaphthyl radicals and hence the reversibility of the electrochemical response are discussed in terms of molecular structure. The ability of azacrown derivatised binaphthyl salts to act as amperometric receptors is ascribed to the strain imparted in the cyclic ammonium ring when Li+ ions complex with them. It is also shown that the redox properties of quaternary ammonium binaphthyl salts are pH dependent in aqueous solutions, but that reversible redox properties can be observed in extremely basic solutions. The effect of anions binding to the quaternary ammonium cation can be seen in the redox properties of the binaphthyl moiety and the use of a chiral binding site for enantiomeric recognition is also demonstrated.     

A Base‐Free Neutral Phase‐Transfer Reaction System

Although phase‐transfer reactions catalyzed by using quaternary ammonium salts are generally believed to require base additives, we discovered that, even without any base additives, conjugate additions of 3‐substituted oxindoles to nitroolefins proceeded smoothly in the presence of lipophilic quaternary ammonium bromide under water–organic biphasic conditions. The mechanism of this novel base‐free neutral phase‐transfer reaction system is investigated and the assumed catalytic cycle is presented together with interesting effects of water and lipophilicity of the phase‐transfer catalyst. The base‐free neutral phase‐transfer reaction system can be applied to highly enantioselective conjugate addition and aldol reactions under the influence of chiral bifunctional ammonium bromides as key catalysts. The structure of the chiral ammonium enolate intermediate is discussed based on the single‐crystal X‐ray structures of relevant ammonium salts and the importance of bifunctional design of catalyst is clearly explained in the model of intermediate.     

A simple catalytic route to naproxen

We report herein the asymmetric synthesis of naproxen involving catalytic enantioselective methylation for the first time. The reaction is conducted in a solid–liquid biphasic system using chiral quaternary ammonium salts.     

From central to planar chirality,the first example of atropenantioselective cycloetherification

Using chiral quaternary ammonium hydroxide as base, cycloetherification of linear achiral diarylheptanoid 5, by way of an intramolecular SNAr reaction, provides enantiomerically enriched cyclophane 6 in good to excellent yield.     

New Developments in Chiral Cooperative Ion Pairing Organocatalysis by Means of Ammonium Oxyanions and Fluorides: From Protonation to Deprotonation Reactions.

This personal account summarizes our contribution to the ion pairing organocatalysis mainly by use of chiral quaternary or tertiary ammonium fluorides, aryloxides and carboxylates. Starting from an experimental observation, we were able to develop several approaches for the enantioselective protonation of silyl enolates and enol esters giving rise to chiral carbonyl compounds bearing a stereogenic center at the α‐position. Moving from protonation to deprotonation reactions, chiral ammonium ion pair catalysts were successfully applied to several asymmetric transformations such as an Henry reaction or a direct vinylogous aldol reaction to cite a few. An outlook of further possible developments in this field of research will also be discussed.     

Asymmetric Michael reaction promoted by new chiral phase-transfer catalysts

A catalytic asymmetric Michael reaction promoted by new chiral quaternary ammonium salts is described. The products are obtained with moderate ee (up to 75% ee), and the enantioselectivity is strongly dependent on both the substituents on the aromatic rings and the ammonium moiety in the catalysts.     

Synthesis of main-chain chiral quaternary ammonium polymers for asymmetric catalysis using quaternization polymerization

Main-chain chiral quaternary ammonium polymers were successfully synthesized by the quaternization polymerization of cinchonidine dimer with dihalides. The polymerization occurred smoothly under optimized conditions to give novel type of main-chain chiral quaternary ammonium polymers. The catalytic activity of the polymeric chiral organocatalysts was investigated on the asymmetric benzylation of N-(diphenylmethylidene)glycine tert-butyl ester.     

Synthesis of functionalized chiral ammonium,imidazolium, and pyridinium-based ionic liquids derived from (−)-ephedrine using solvent-free microwave activation. Applications for the asymmetric Michael addition

An efficient procedure for the synthesis of functionalized chiral ammonium, imidazolium, and pyridinium-based ionic liquids derived from (1R, 2S)-ephedrine using solvent-free microwave activation has been described. Good yields were obtained in very short reaction time. These chiral ionic liquids were used as chiral reaction media for the asymmetric Michael addition, giving good yields and moderate enantioselectivities.     

Asymmetric epoxidation catalyzed by novel azacrown ether-type chiral quaternary ammonium salts under phase-transfer catalytic conditions

Asymmetric epoxidation of (E)-chalcone with alkaline hydrogen peroxide by novel chiral phase-transfer catalysts (chiral PTCs) with quaternary ammonium salts of azacrown ether proceeded in high yield and good enantioselectivity. Remarkably, this reaction depended on the length of the carbon chain on the nitrogen atom with the chiral PTCs and on the bulk of the base.