Chiral alkene polymerization

Stereochemistry Coordination Polymerization. Stereoisomerism is possible in the polymerization of alkenes and 1,3-dienes. Polymerization of a monosubstituted ethylene, such as propylene, yields polymers in which every other carbon in the polymer chain is a chiral center. The substituent on each chiral center can have either of two configurations. Two ordered polymer structures are possible — isotactic (XII and syndiotactic (XIII) — where the substituent R groups on... 

The chiral sites which are able to rationalize the isospecific polymerization of 1-alkenes are also able, in the framework of the mechanism of the chiral orientation of the growing polymer chain, to account for the stereoselective behavior observed for chiral alkenes in the presence of isospecific heterogeneous catalysts.104 In particular, the model proved able to explain the experimental results relative to the first insertion of a chiral alkene into an initial Ti-methyl bond,105 that is, the absence of discrimination between si and re monomer enantiofaces and the presence of diastereoselectivity [preference for S(R) enantiomer upon si (re) insertion]. Upon si (re) coordination of the two enantiomers of 3-methyl-l-pentene to the octahedral model site, it was calculated that low-energy minima only occur when the conformation relative to the single C-C bond adjacent to the double bond, referred to the hydrogen atom bonded to the tertiary carbon atom, is nearly anticlinal minus, A- (anticlinal plus, A+). Thus one can postulate the reactivity only of the A- conformations upon si coordination and of the A+ conformations upon re coordination (Figure 1.16). In other words, upon si coordination, only the synperiplanar methyl conformation would be accessible to the S enantiomer and only the (less populated) synperiplanar ethyl conformation to the R enantiomer this would favor the si attack of the S enantiomer with respect to the same attack of the R enantiomer, independent of the chirality of the catalytic site. This result is in agreement with a previous hypothesis of Zambelli and co-workers based only on the experimental reactivity ratios of the different faces of C-3-branched 1-alkenes.105... 

The models considered in this section refer to catalytic systems for which the polymerization reaction occurs by primary insertion of the 1-alkene and neither chirality of coordination of the aromatic ligands nor chirality at the... 

Song et al. [62] reported poly-salen Co(III) complexes 18, 19 as catalyst for HKR (Figure 5) of terminal alkene epoxides. The polymeric catalysts provided product epoxides with excellent conversion (>49%) and high chiral purity (ee s, 98%) and the catalytic system could be recycled once with retention of activity and enantioselectivity. 

Rhodium(II) acetate catalyzes C—H insertion, olefin addition, heteroatom-H insertion, and ylide formation of a-diazocarbonyls via a rhodium carbenoid species (144—147). Intramolecular cyclopentane formation via C—H insertion occurs with retention of stereochemistry (143). Chiral rhodium (TT) carboxamides catalyze enantioselective cyclopropanation and intramolecular C—N insertions of CC-diazoketones (148). Other reactions catalyzed by rhodium complexes include double-bond migration (140), hydrogenation of aromatic aldehydes and ketones to hydrocarbons (150), homologation of esters (151), carbonylation of formaldehyde (152) and amines (140), reductive carbonylation of dimethyl ether or methyl acetate to 1,1-diacetoxy ethane (153), decarbonylation of aldehydes (140), water gas shift reaction (69,154), C—C skeletal rearrangements (132,140), oxidation of olefins to ketones (155) and aldehydes (156), and oxidation of substituted anthracenes to anthraquinones (157). Rhodium-catalyzed hydrosilation of olefins, alkynes, carbonyls, alcohols, and imines is facile and may also be accomplished enantioselectively (140). Rhodium complexes are moderately active alkene and alkyne polymerization catalysts (140). In some cases polymer-supported versions of homogeneous rhodium catalysts have improved activity, compared to their homogenous counterparts. This is the case for the conversion of alkenes direcdy to alcohols under oxo conditions by rhodium—amine polymer catalysts... 

Analysis with chiral nuclear magnetic resonance shift reagents revealed that the isotactic poly (1,4-ketone) products were formed with an average or overall degree of enantioselectivity that was >90%. Using the same catalyst, Jiang and Sen also described the first example of alternating co-polymerization between an internal alkene (2-butene) and carbon monoxide to form an isotactic, optically active poly(l,5-ketone). 

Further Applications. Chiral 1,1-diary 1-2-propynols are resolved by mutual crystallization with (—)-sparteine. Low ee values were achieved in Pd-mediated alkylations. Numerous attempts at enantioselective, alkyllithium-catalyzed polymerizations of alkenes in the presence of (—)-sparteine have been reported. ... 

Towards the end of the second millennium, studies of the transition elements continued to make major contributions to chemical science and technology. The development of new catalysts and reagents represents one area of activity. Examples are provided by the activation of saturated hydrocarbons by rhodium or lutetium complexes, new syntheses of optically active products in reactions which employ chiral metal compounds, and transition metal compounds which catalyse the stereospecific polymerization of alkenes. The ability of transition metal centres to bind to several organic molecules has been exploited in the construction of new two- and three-dimensional molecular architectures (Figure 1.4). New materials containing transition elements are being developed, one... 

Early metal-metallocene-alkene polymerization catalysts permit the synthesis of highly isotactic polypropylene . They rely on controlling the stereochemistry of alkene insertion by the use of chiral C2 symmetric metallocenes . Late metal systems for alkene polymerization , and copolymerization of alkenes and CO , have also been developed. 

Complexes of a variety of binaphtholate derivatives of general formulas Zr(OR)2(OC10H5R)2, Zr[(OC 10H5R)2]2L2 (R = H, Br, Cl L = donor),470 and Zr(0 Bu )2(0 Ph BrC, 0H, )2509 have been prepared. The chirality of these binaphthol derivatives has prompted applications as catalysts for enantioselective organic transformations. These included alkylation of aldehydes,510 Mannich-type reactions,511-513 allylation of imines,514-517 aza-Diels-Alder reactions,509 518 asymmetric prop-2-ynylation,519 aldol reactions,520,521 and alkene polymerization.508,522,523... 

Stereoselective epoxidation of alkenes, desymmetrization of maso-TV-sulfonylaziri-dines, Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of cyclobutanones, Diels-Alder reactions of 1,2-dihydropyridines, and polymerization of lactides using metal complexes of chiral binaphthyl Schiff-base ligands 03CCR(242)97. 

Dimethyl-2-phenylspiro[2.5]nonane-4,8-dione (17) was obtained with high enantioselectiv-ity from styrene and 2-diazo-5,5-dimethylcyclohexane-l,3-dione (diazodimedone) in the presence of a copper complex bearing chiral 1,3-dioxo ligands derived from 3-trifluoroacetyl-( + )-camphor. The catalysts retain their activity even if linked to a polymeric support. Despite the impressive optical induction for this transformation, no other successful applications of these catalysts have so far been reported with a trisubstituted alkene, only very low enan-tioselectivity was observed. ... 

A poly(bmaphthyl metallosalen complex) 128 (Scheme 3.36) was prepared and used as a catalyst for the asymmetric epoxidation of alkene [72]. Although enantioselectivities obtained by using the polymeric catalyst were low, this represented a new type of polymeric chiral complex based on the main-chain hehcity. 

---