Titanium Salan Catalysts for the Asymmetric Epoxidation of Alkenes: Steric and Electronic Factors Governing the Activity and Enantioselectivity

A new insight into the highly enantioselective (up to >99.5 % ee) epoxidation of olefins in the presence of chiral titanium(IV) salan complexes is reported. A series of 14 chiral ligands with varying steric and electronic properties have been designed, and it was found that electronic effects modulate the catalytic activity (without affecting the enantioselectivity), whereas the steric properties account for the enantioselectivity of the epoxidation. Competitive oxidations of p‐substituted styrenes reveal the electrophilic nature of the oxygen‐transferring active species, with a Hammett ρ value of ?0.51; the enantioselectivity is unaffected by the electron‐donating (or withdrawing) ability of the p‐substituents. Mechanistic studies provide evidence in favor of a stepwise reaction mechanism: in the first (rate‐determining) stage, olefin most probably coordinates to the active species, followed by intramolecular enantioselective oxygen transfer. The enantioselectivity increases with decreasing temperature. The modified Eyring plots for the epoxidation of styrene and (Z)‐β‐methylstyrene are linear, indicating a single, enthalpy‐controlled mechanism of stereoselectivity, with ΔΔH^≠=?6.6 kJ mol^?1 and ?5.4 kJ mol^?1, respectively.     

Asymmetric Epoxidation of Olefins with Sodium Percarbonate Catalyzed by Bis-amino-bis-pyridine Manganese Complexes

Asymmetric epoxidation of a series of olefinic substrates with sodium percarbonate oxidant in the presence of homogeneous catalysts based on Mn complexes with bis-amino-bis-pyridine ligands is reported. Sodium percarbonate is a readily available and environmentally benign oxidant that is studied in these reactions for the first time. The epoxidation proceeded with good to high yields (up to 100%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) using as low as 0.2 mol. % catalyst loadings. The epoxidation protocol is suitable for various types of substrates, including unfunctionalized alkenes, α,β-unsaturated ketones, esters (cis- and trans-), and amides (cis- and trans-). The reaction mechanism is discussed.     

Low-Spin and High-Spin Perferryl Intermediates in Non-Heme Iron Catalyzed Oxidations of Aliphatic C−H Groups

The selectivity patterns of iron catalysts of the Fe(PDP) family in aliphatic C−H oxidation with H₂O₂ have been studied (PDP=N,N′-bis(pyridine-2-ylmethyl)-2,2′-bipyrrolidine). Cyclohexane, adamantane, 1-bromo-3,7-dimethyloctane, 3,7-dimethyloctyl acetate, (−)-acetoxy-p-menthane, and cis-1,2-dimethylcyclohexane were used as substrates. The studied catalyst systems generate low-spin (S=1/2) oxoiron(V) intermediates or high-spin (S=3/2) oxoiron(V) intermediates, depending on the electron-donating ability of remote substituents at the pyridine rings. The low-spin perferryl intermediates demonstrate lower stability and higher reactivity toward aliphatic C−H groups of cyclohexane than their high-spin congeners, according to the measured self-decay and second-order rate constants k₁ and k₂. Unexpectedly, there appears to be no uniform correlation between the spin state of the oxoiron(V) intermediates, and the chemo- and regioselectivity of the corresponding catalyst systems in the oxidation of the considered substrates. This contrasts with the asymmetric epoxidations by the same catalyst systems, in which case the epoxidation enantioselectivity increases when passing from the systems featuring the more reactive low-spin perferryl intermediates to those with their less reactive high-spin congeners.     

Intermediates of Asymmetric Oxidation Processes Catalyzed by Vanadium(V) Complexes

The [VO(acac)₂]/Schiff base [R-2-(N-3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)amino-2-phenyl-1-ethanol, S-2-(N-3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)amino-3,3-dimethyl-1-butanol, S-2-(N-3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)amino-3-methyl-1-butanol, or R-2-(N-3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)amino-3-phenyl-1-propanol]/H₂O₂ catalytic systems for the asymmetric oxidation of sulfides and the [VO(acac)₂]/(3bR,4aR)-2-(3,4,4-trimethyl-3b,4,4a,5-tetrahydrocyclopropa[3,4]cyclopenta[1,2-c]pyrazol-1-yl)ethanol/tert-butyl hydroperoxide/TBHP and VO(OAlkyl)₃/[2,2]paracyclophane-4-carboxylic acid N-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-N-hydroxamide/TBHP catalytic systems for the asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols were studied using ¹³C, ⁵¹V, and ¹⁷O NMR spectroscopy. The key intermediates of these systems (peroxo and alkylperoxo complexes of vanadium(V)) were detected, their structures in solution were studied, and the reactivity was evaluated.     

Ni- and Pd-based homogeneous catalyst systems for direct oxygenation of C(sp3)-H groups

Developing catalytic approaches to selective activation and functionalization of C–H bonds in hydrocarbons and complex organic molecules has been considered as a challenging goal. Recently, significant efforts have been aimed at the search for efficient nickel- and palladium-based catalyst systems, capable of conducting direct aliphatic C–H oxygenation with high and predictable chemoselectivity and regioselectivity. The present review focuses on the advances in homogeneous oxidation of hydrocarbon C(sp³)–H groups, catalyzed by nickel and palladium complexes, and covers the publications of the past 15 years. Correlations between the structure of the metal-based catalyst, steric and electronic properties of the ligands, catalytic conditions, and the catalytic reactivity (efficiency, chemoselectivity, and regioselectivity) are discussed.