Allylic alcohols, enantioselective epoxidation

In general, 2-substituted allylic alcohols are epoxidized in good enantioselectivity. Like glycidol, however, the product epoxides are susceptible to ring opening via nucleophilic attack at the C-3 position. Results of the AE reaction on 2-methyl-2-propene-l-ol followed by derivatization of the resulting epoxy alcohol are shown in Table 1.6.1. Other examples are shown below. 

As with i -substituted allyl alcohols, 2,i -substituted allyl alcohols are epoxidized in excellent enantioselectivity. Examples of AE reactions of this class of substrate are shown below. Epoxide 23 was utilized to prepare chiral allene oxides, which were ring opened with TBAF to provide chiral a-fluoroketones. Epoxide 24 was used to prepare 5,8-disubstituted indolizidines and epoxide 25 was utilized in the formal synthesis of macrosphelide A. Epoxide 26 represents an AE reaction on the very electron deficient 2-cyanoallylic alcohols and epoxide 27 was an intermediate in the total synthesis of (+)-varantmycin. 

Finally, a titanium(IV) pillared clay (Ti-PILC) catalyst has been prepared.71 In the presence of tartaric acid esters as chiral ligands Ti-PILC is an effective, heterogeneous catalyst for the asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols. Enantioselectivities were comparable to those observed in the homogeneous system - and reactions could be carried out at concentrations up to 2M with a simple work-up via filtration of the catalyst. 

There are many synthetic applications of epoxide formation. Titanium alkoxides in the presence of diethyltartrate as a chiral ligand catalyze the epoxidation of allylic alcohols enantioselectively (Sharpless reaction). In the presence of singlet... 

The SAE is arguably one of the most important reactions discovered in the last 30 years. The SAE converts the double bond of allyl alcohols into epoxides with high enantioselective purity using a titanium tetraisopropoxide catalyst, Ti(0-iPr)4, chiral additive, either L-(+)-diethyl tartrate [(+)-DET, 7.45] or D-(—)-diethyl tartrate [(—)-DET, 7.46], and tert-butyl peroxide (t-BuOOH, TBHP (f-butylhydroperoxide)) as the source of the oxidant in stoichiometric amounts (see section 1.5, references 28-30 of Chapter 1). 

Chiral Ligand for Asymmetric Catalysis. Dimethyl l-tartrate is a demonstrated chiral ligand for the Ti -catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols (Sharpless epoxidation), and the Zn -mediated asymmetric cyclo-propanation of allylic alcohols (Simmons-Smith reaction), see lodomethylzinc Iodide Enantioselectivities in these reactions... 

Enantioselectivity. In 1980, T. Katsuki and K. B. Sharpless (Nobel Prize, 2001) reported a method whereby prochiral allylic alcohols are epoxidized in the presence of r-BuOOH, Ti(/-OPr)4, and (-h)-or (-)-diethyl tartrate (DET) with high regio- and stereoselectivity to produce the corresponding optically active epoxides." ... 

The enantioselective total synthesis of the annonacenous acetogenin (+)-parviflorin was accomplished by T.R. Hoye and co-workers." The b/s-tetrahydrofuran backbone of the natural product was constructed using a sequential double Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation and Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation. The bis allylic alcohol was epoxidized using L-(+)-DET to give the essentially enantiopure bis epoxide in 87% yield. 

Unlike the Sharpless epoxidation, which gives ehiral epoxides fix)m allylic alcohols, asymmetric epoxidation of unfimctionalized alkenes achieved by Jacobsen et al. [74],by using chiral salen-metal catalysts. Salen-Mn catalysts are preferred since manganese itself is relatively a low eost and nontoxic metal, primarily because of fewer side reaetions over other metal eomplexes. Variety of simple oxidants, such as PhlO, NaClO, and oxone are employed as reoxidants and best possible enantioselectivity for a given substrate could be achieved by choosing the proper metal-salen catalyst and reaction conditions [81], The catalyst can be Irne-tuned for required steric and electronic properties by making a variety of chiral salen ligands fi om various chiral diamines with salicylaldehyde derivates [82]. 

The first practical method for asymmetric epoxidation of primary and secondary allylic alcohols was developed by K.B. Sharpless in 1980 (T. Katsuki, 1980 K.B. Sharpless, 1983 A, B, 1986 see also D. Hoppe, 1982). Tartaric esters, e.g., DET and DIPT" ( = diethyl and diisopropyl ( + )- or (— )-tartrates), are applied as chiral auxiliaries, titanium tetrakis(2-pro-panolate) as a catalyst and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (= TBHP, Bu OOH) as the oxidant. If the reaction mixture is kept absolutely dry, catalytic amounts of the dialkyl tartrate-titanium(IV) complex are suflicient, which largely facilitates work-up procedures (Y. Gao, 1987). Depending on the tartrate enantiomer used, either one of the 2,3-epoxy alcohols may be obtained with high enantioselectivity. The titanium probably binds to the diol grouping of one tartrate molecule and to the hydroxy groups of the bulky hydroperoxide and of the allylic alcohol... 

In 1980, Katsuki and Sharpless communicated that the epoxidation of a variety of allylic alcohols was achieved in exceptionally high enantioselectivity with a catalyst derived from titanium(IV) isopropoxide and chiral diethyl tartrate. This seminal contribution described an asymmetric catalytic system that not only provided the product epoxide in remarkable enantioselectivity, but showed the immediate generality of the reaction by examining 5 of the 8 possible substitution patterns of allylic alcohols all of which were epoxidized in >90% ee. Shortly thereafter. Sharpless and others began to illustrate the... 

Although the limited examples of AE reactions on 2,3Z-substituted allyl alcohols appear to give product epoxides in good enantioselectivity, the highly substituted nature of these olefins can have a deleterious effect on the reactivity. For example, Aiai has shown that the 2,3E-substituted allyl alcohol 30 can be epoxidized with either (-)-DET or (+)-DET in good yields and enantioselectivity. However, the configurational isomer 32 is completely unreactive using (-)-DET, even after a 34 h reaction time. 

Desymmetrization of meso-bis-allylic alcohols is an effective method for the preparation of chiral functionalized intermediates from meso-substrates. Schreiber et al has shown that divinyl carbonyl 58 is epoxidized in good enantioselectivity. However, because the product epoxy alcohols 59 and 60 also contain a reactive allylic alcohol that are diastereomeric in nature, a second epoxidation would occur at different rates and thus affect the observed ee for the first AE reaction and the overall de. Indeed, the major diastereomeric product epoxide 59 resulting from the first AE is less reactive in the second epoxidation. Thus, high de is easily obtainable since the second epoxidation removes the minor diastereomer. 

The asymmetric epoxidation of an allylic alcohol 1 to yield a 2,3-epoxy alcohol 2 with high enantiomeric excess, has been developed by Sharpless and Katsuki. This enantioselective reaction is carried out in the presence of tetraisopropoxyti-tanium and an enantiomerically pure dialkyl tartrate—e.g. (-1-)- or (-)-diethyl tartrate (DET)—using tcrt-butyl hydroperoxide as the oxidizing agent. 

Figure 6.4 Some successful examples of kinetic resolution of allylic alcohols by enantioselective epoxidation [21, 27].

Asymmetric epoxidations of alkenes have been intensively studied since Sharpless initial report on asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols in 1980. This reaction, discussed in Section 9.1.3, has become one of the most widely employed reactions in asymmetric synthesis, due to its reliability and high enantioselectivity [2],... 

Ten years after Sharpless s discovery of the asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols, Jacobsen and Katsuki independently reported asymmetric epoxidations of unfunctionalized olefins by use of chiral Mn-salen catalysts such as 9 (Scheme 9.3) [14, 15]. The reaction works best on (Z)-disubstituted alkenes, although several tri-and tetrasubstituted olefins have been successfully epoxidized [16]. The reaction often requires ligand optimization for each substrate for high enantioselectivity to be achieved. 

The development of Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation (SAE) of allylic alcohols in 1980 constitutes a breakthrough in asymmetric synthesis, and to date this method remains the most widely applied asymmetric epoxidation technique [34, 44]. A wide range of substrates can be used in the reaction ( ) -allylic alcohols generally give high enantioselectivity, whereas the reaction is more substrate-dependent with (Z)-allylic alcohols [34]. 

Allylic alcohols can be converted to epoxy-alcohols with tert-butylhydroperoxide on molecular sieves, or with peroxy acids. Epoxidation of allylic alcohols can also be done with high enantioselectivity. In the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation,allylic alcohols are converted to optically active epoxides in better than 90% ee, by treatment with r-BuOOH, titanium tetraisopropoxide and optically active diethyl tartrate. The Ti(OCHMe2)4 and diethyl tartrate can be present in catalytic amounts (15-lOmol %) if molecular sieves are present. Polymer-supported catalysts have also been reported. Since both (-t-) and ( —) diethyl tartrate are readily available, and the reaction is stereospecific, either enantiomer of the product can be prepared. The method has been successful for a wide range of primary allylic alcohols, where the double bond is mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrasubstituted. This procedure, in which an optically active catalyst is used to induce asymmetry, has proved to be one of the most important methods of asymmetric synthesis, and has been used to prepare a large number of optically active natural products and other compounds. The mechanism of the Sharpless epoxidation is believed to involve attack on the substrate by a compound formed from the titanium alkoxide and the diethyl tartrate to produce a complex that also contains the substrate and the r-BuOOH. ... 

The enantioselective epoxidation method developed by Sharpless and co-workers is an important asymmetric transformation known today. This method involves the epoxidation of allylic alcohols with fcrt-butyl hydroperoxide and titanium (sopropoxide in the presence of optically active pure tartarate esters, see Eqn. (25). 

The epoxidation of allylic alcohols can also be effected by /-butyl hydroperoxide and titanium tetraisopropoxide. When enantiomerically pure tartrate ligands are included, the reaction is highly enantioselective. This reaction is called the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation.55 Either the (+) or (—) tartrate ester can be used, so either enantiomer of the desired product can be obtained. 

The catalyst was used for the epoxidation of allylic alcohols at room temperature using t-butyl hydroperoxide as the oxidant. The activity of the heterog-enized catalyst is comparable with that of the free complex, yielding products with excellent yields and selectivity and moderate enantioselectivity.185... 

Metal alkoxides undergo alkoxide exchange with alcoholic compounds such as alcohols, hydro-xamic acids, and alkyl hydroperoxides. Alkyl hydroperoxides themselves do not epoxidize olefins. However, hydroperoxides coordinated to a metal ion are activated by coordination of the distal oxygen (O2) and undergo epoxidation (Scheme 1). When the olefin is an allylic alcohol, both hydroperoxide and olefin are coordinated to the metal ion and the epoxidation occurs swiftly in an intramolecular manner.22 Thus, the epoxidation of an allylic alcohol proceeds selectively in the presence of an isolated olefin.23,24 In this metal-mediated epoxidation of allylic alcohols, some alkoxide(s) (—OR) do not participate in the epoxidation. Therefore, if such bystander alkoxide(s) are replaced with optically active ones, the epoxidation is expected to be enantioselective. Indeed, Yamada et al.25 and Sharp less et al.26 independently reported the epoxidation of allylic alcohols using Mo02(acac)2 modified with V-methyl-ephedrine and VO (acac)2 modified with an optically active hydroxamic acid as the catalyst, respectively, albeit with modest enantioselectivity. 

The scope of metal-mediated asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols was remarkably enhanced by a new titanium system introduced by Katsuki and Sharpless epoxidation of allylic alcohols using a titanium(IV) isopropoxide, dialkyl tartrate (DAT), and TBHP (TBHP = tert-butyl-hydroperoxide) proceeds with high enantioselectivity and good chemical yield, regardless of... 

The transition-state model of this reaction has been proposed as (1), based on X-ray analyses of single crystals prepared from Ti(OPr )4, (R,R)-diethyl tartrate (DET), and PhCON(OH)Ph and from Ti(OPr )4, and (R,R) N,/V -dibenzyltartramide.30-32 The Z-substituent (R2), located close to the metal center, destabilizes the desired transition state and decreases enantioselectivity (vide supra). When the Z-substituent is chiral, face selection induced by the substituent strongly affects the stereochemistry of the epoxidation, and sometimes reversed face selectivity is observed.4 In contrast, the. E-substituent (R1) protrudes into an open space and E -allylic alcohols are generally good substrates for the epoxidation. 

The original epoxidation with titanium-tartrate is homogeneous, but it can be carried out heterogeneously without diminishing enantioselectivity by using titanium-pillared montmorillonite catalyst (Ti-PILC) prepared from titanium isopropoxide, (+)-DAT, and Na+-montmorillonite.38 Due to the limited spacing of Ti-PILC, the epoxidation becomes slower as the allylic alcohol gets bulkier. 

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