A new method for the synthesis of n-(2-aminoethyl)azoles by alkylation of azoles with 2-alkyl-4,5-dihydrooxazoles

Ring opening in 2-alkyl-4,5-dihydrooxazoles by the action of azoles gave intermediate N-(2-azolylethyl)alkanamides, whose hydrolysis afforded N-(2-aminoethyl)azoles. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 1781–1784, October, 2006.     

Synthesis and characterization of a series of diverse poly(2‐oxazoline)s

This article describes the synthesis and characterization of a variety of new poly(2‐oxazoline)s. With regard to functional polymers, 2‐oxazolines represent an interesting class of monomers because of the easy variation of the substituent in 2‐position. Starting from the corresponding nitriles, different 2‐oxazolines were obtained containing a diverse set of 2‐substituents, including thioether bonds ( M11 ), trifluoromethyl groups ( M8 , M10 ), and alkyl‐ or aryl groups ( M1 – M7 ). The subsequent polymerization of the majority of these monomers proceeded in a living manner, which was demonstrated by linear first‐order kinetics, a linear increase of molar mass with conversion, and relatively narrow molar mass distributions. In addition, selected thermal and surface properties of the polymers were studied utilizing DSC and contact‐angle measurements to determine the effects of different 2‐substituents on the macroscopic properties. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 3829–3838, 2009     

Direct Catalytic Enantio‐ and Diastereoselective Ketone Aldol Reactions of Isocyanoacetates

A catalytic asymmetric aldol addition/cyclization reaction of unactivated ketones with isocyanoacetate pronucleophiles has been developed. A quinine‐derived aminophosphine precatalyst and silver oxide were found to be an effective binary catalyst system and promoted the reaction to afford chiral oxazolines possessing a fully substituted stereocenter with good diastereoselectivities and excellent enantioselectivities.     

Diastereoselective Strategies towards Thia[n]helicenes

In the present study, we have investigated different strategies for diastereoselective synthesis of thia[n]helicenes. We describe the introduction of different chiral auxiliaries at various positions and investigated their effect in the photocyclization reaction. Different chiral groups were placed at the sterically hindered position of the helical core and their interactions with various solvents and metals like copper were investigated. The use of Cu^I salts has led to high diastereoselectivity in the photocyclization process and we were successful in obtaining the thia[5]helicene in enantiomerically pure form in good yield. The single diastereomer obtained was characterized by X‐ray crystallography. From the study of the barrier of racemization of these thia[5]helicenes, the stability was found to be comparable to unsubstituted tetrathia[7]helicenes and substituted diazadithia[7]helicenes. This approach provides an easy access to enantiopure helicenes.     

Lithiation of optically active oxazolinyloxiranes: configurational stability

The α-lithiation reaction of optically active oxazolinyloxiranes has been investigated. The trapping reaction with D₂O, MeI and acetone affording substituted oxazolinyloxiranes proved that the corresponding lithiated species are configurationally unstable. A stereoconvergency was observed in the case of lithiation-deuteration sequence of two oxazolinyloxiranes.     

Synthesis and metal complexes of chiral c(2)-symmetric diamino-bisoxazoline ligands

A synthetic route to tetradentate chiral N(4) ligands has been developed with the aim to study the potential of corresponding iron and manganese complexes as catalysts for enantioselective epoxidation. These ligands, which contain two oxazoline rings and two trialkylamino groups as coordinating units, are readily prepared in enantiomerically pure form by the reaction of chiral 2-chloromethyloxazolines with achiral N,N'-dimethylethane-1,2-diamine or chiral (R,R)-N,N'-dimethylcyclohexane-1,2-diamine. The ligands derived from N,N'-dimethylethane-1,2-diamine reacted with anhydrous metal halides MnCl(2) and FeCl(2) in a stereoselective manner to give octahedral mononuclear complexes that have the general formula Delta-[(L)MCl(2)]. In contrast, the ligands derived from N,N'-dimethylcyclohexane-1,2-diamine formed complexes with different coordination modes depending on the diastereomer employed: in one case the metal ion was found to be pentacoordinate, in the other case a hexacoordinated complex was observed. The structure of a series of Fe and Mn complexes was determined by X-ray analysis. The coordination chemistry of these ligands was further studied by X-ray and NMR analyses of the diamagnetic isostructural complexes [(L)ZnCl(2)]. Analogous ionic complexes, which were prepared by removing chloride with silver trifluoromethanesulfonate or hexafluoroantimonate, were tested as catalysts for the epoxidation of olefins.     

Dipeptides containing D-serine or D-isoserine from the same (R)-aziridine-2-imide by a simple reversal of the synthetic procedure

The ring expansion of 3-unsubstituted (R)-aziridine-2-imide-containing dipeptide under acidic conditions gives rise to oxazoline-5-imide regio and stereoselectively, which can be hydrolysed to the dipeptide containing D-isoserine. On the other hand, the ring opening of 3-unsubstituted (R)-aziridine-2-ester dipeptide, easily obtained from the same (R)-aziridine, gives the regioisomeric dipeptide containing D-serine.     

Synthesis of a Novel C2‐Symmetric Bis‐oxazoline (=Bis[4,5‐dihydrooxazole]) and Its Application as Chiral Ligand in Asymmetric Transition Metal Catalysis

The new C₂‐symmetric bis‐oxazoline (=bis[4,5‐dihydrooxazole]) 2 with a chiral trans‐(2R,3R)‐2,3‐bis(3,5‐diphenylphenyl)cyclopropylidene (=trans‐(2R,3R)‐2,3‐bis([1,1′: 3′,1″‐terphenyl]‐5′‐yl)cyclopropylidene) backbone was efficiently synthesized (Scheme). All synthetic steps were easy to perform and led to the desired product in good overall yields. Compound 2 was tested and compared as ligand in several enantioselective catalytic reactions such as palladium(0)‐catalyzed enantioselective allylic alkylations and copper(I)‐catalyzed enantioselective cyclopropanations and aziridinations.     

Enantioselective hydrogenation of alkenes with iridium-PHOX catalysts: a kinetic study of anion effects

In the asymmetric hydrogenation of unfunctionalized olefins with cationic iridium-PHOX catalysts, the reaction kinetics and, as a consequence, catalyst activity and productivity depend heavily on the counterion. A strong decrease in the reaction rate is observed in the series [Al[OC(CF3)3]4]- >BArF- >[B(C6F5)4]- >PF6- >BF4- >CF3SO3-. With the first two anions, high rates, turnover frequencies (TOF >5000 h(-1) at 4 degrees C), and turnover numbers (TONs) of 2000-5000 are routinely achieved. The hexafluorophosphate salt reacts with lower rates, although they are still respectable; however, this salt suffers from deactivation during the reaction and extreme water-sensitivity, especially at low catalyst loading. Triflate and tetrafluoroborate almost completely inhibit the catalyst. In contrast to the hexafluorophosphate salt, catalysts with [Al[OC(CF3)3]4]-, BArF-, and [B(C6F5)4]- as counterions do not lose activity during the reaction and remain active, even after all the substrate has been consumed. In addition they are much less sensitive to moisture and, in general, rigorous exclusion of water and oxygen is not necessary. A first-order rate dependence on the hydrogen pressure was determined for the BArF- and the PF6- salts. At low catalyst loading, the rate dependence on catalyst concentration was also first order. The rate dependence on the alkene concentration was strikingly different for the two salts. While the reaction rate observed for the BArF- salt slightly decreased with increasing alkene concentration (rate order -0.2), a rate order of approximately 1 was determined for the corresponding hexafluorophosphate at low alkene concentrations.