Asymmetric epoxidation, alken

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. 

When asymmetric epoxidation of a diene is not feasible, an indirect route based on asymmetric dihydroxylation can be employed. The alkene is converted into the corresponding syn-diol with high enantioselectivity, and the diol is subsequently transformed into the corresponding trans-epoxide in a high-yielding one-pot procedure (Scheme 9.5) [20]. No cpirricrizalion occurs, and the procedure has successfully been applied to natural product syntheses when direct epoxidation strategies have failed [21]. Alternative methods for conversion of vicinal diols into epoxides have also been reported [22, 23]. 

Asymmetric epoxidation is another important area of activity, initially pioneered by Sharpless, using catalysts based on titanium tetraisoprop-oxide and either (+) or (—) dialkyl tartrate. The enantiomer formed depends on the tartrate used. Whilst this process has been widely used for the synthesis of complex carbohydrates it is limited to allylic alcohols, the hydroxyl group bonding the substrate to the catalyst. Jacobson catalysts (Formula 4.3) based on manganese complexes with chiral Shiff bases have been shown to be efficient in epoxidation of a wide range of alkenes. 

A breakthrough in iron-catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation of aromatic alkenes using hydrogen peroxide has been reported by our group in 2008. Good to excellent isolated yields of aromatic epoxides are obtained with ee-values up to 97% for stilbene derivatives using diphenylethylenediamines 9 as ligands (Scheme 5) [45, 46]. 

The synthesis, structure, and catalytic properties of a Pd11 complex with a partially hydrogenated ligand, shown in Figure 31, are described.393 This study provides the first asymmetric epoxidation of alkenes catalyzed by a palladium complex.393... 

Figure 6.14. Chiral salen complexes used in the asymmetric epoxidation of alkenes.[7]...

The protocol developed by Jacobsen and Katsuki for the salen-Mn catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation of unfunctionalized alkenes continues to dominate the field. The mechanism of the oxygen transfer has not yet been fully elucidated, although recent molecular orbital calculations based on density functional theory suggest a radical intermediate (2), whose stability and lifetime dictate the degree of cis/trans isomerization during the epoxidation <00AG(E)589>. 

Following the success with the titanium-mediated asymmetric epoxidation reactions of allylic alcohols, work was intensified to seek a similar general method that does not rely on allylic alcohols for substrate recognition. A particularly interesting challenge was the development of catalysts for enantioselective oxidation of unfunctionalized olefins. These alkenes cannot form conformationally restricted chelate complexes, and consequently the differentiation of the enan-tiotropic sides of the substrate is considerably more difficult. 

Mechanistic studies103 revealed that chiral ketone-mediated asymmetric epoxidation of hydroxyl alkenes is highly pH dependent. Lower enantioselectivity is obtained at lower pH values at high pH, epoxidation mediated by chiral ketone out-competes the racemic epoxidation, leading to higher enantioselectivity. (For another mechanistic study on ketone-mediated epoxidation of C=C bonds, see Miaskiewicz and Smith.104)... 

The requirement for the presence of an adjacent alcohol group can be regarded as quite a severe limitation to the substrate range undergoing asymmetric epoxidation using the Katsuki-Sharpless method. To overcome this limitation new chiral metal complexes have been discovered which catalyse the epoxidation of nonfunctionalized alkenes. The work of Katsuki and Jacobsen in this area has been extremely important. Their development of chiral manganese (Ill)-salen complexes for asymmetric epoxidation of unfunctionalized olefins has been reviewed1881. 

A typical manganese-salen complex (27)[89] is capable of catalysing the asymmetric epoxidation of (Z)-alkenes (Scheme 18) using sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) as the principle oxidant. Cyclic alkenes and a, (3-unsaturated esters are also excellent starting materials for example indene may be transformed into the corresponding epoxide (28) with good enantiomeric excess1901. The epoxidation of such alkenes can be improved by the addition of ammonium acetate to the catalyst system 911. 

The asymmetric epoxidation of /i-alkenes and terminal alkenes proved to be more difficult, though a recent finding, describing the use of a modified salen complex to epoxidize ( )-0-methylstyrene to form the corresponding epoxide in 83% ee, represents another important step forward. Alternatively, chiral (D2-symmetric) porphyrins have been used, in conjunction with ruthenium or iron, for efficient asymmetric oxidation of trans- and terminal alkenes[92]. 

Chapters 4-6 present an overview and a comparison between the various existing strategies for asymmetric epoxidation of unfunctionalized alkenes, a, (3-unsaturated ketones and allylic alcohols. 

Asymmetric epoxidation of disubstituted Z-alkenes using a chiral... 

ASYMMETRIC EPOXIDATION OF DISUBSTITUTED Z-ALKENES USING A CHIRAL SALEN-MANGANESE COMPLEX111... 

ASYMMETRIC EPOXIDATION OF DISUBSTITUTED E-ALKENES USING A d-FRUCTOSE BASED CATALYST121... 

Table 6.3 depicts the results of the asymmetric epoxidation of some aromatic alkenes. 

Interesting results were obtained in the asymmetric epoxidation of the (Z)-alkenes 94 using the (salen)Mn catalyst 95 in conjunction with sodium hypochlorite as an oxidant, giving the optically active -epoxides 96 as the major products,1711 as... 

A further advantage of this ligand-accelerated reaction is that a directing functional group is not essential for enantioselectivity, as in asymmetric epoxidation and hydrogenation. Even simple alkenes are converted into diols in 20-88% ee... 

A more versatile method to use organic polymers in enantioselective catalysis is to employ these as catalytic supports for chiral ligands. This approach has been primarily applied in reactions as asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral alkenes, asymmetric reduction of ketone and 1,2-additions to carbonyl groups. Later work has included additional studies dealing with Lewis acid-catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions, asymmetric epoxidation, and asymmetric dihydroxylation reactions. Enantioselective catalysis using polymer-supported catalysts is covered rather recently in a review by Bergbreiter [257],... 

Further variations on the epoxyketone intermediate theme have been reported. In the first (Scheme 9A) [78], limonene oxide was prepared by Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation of commercial (S)-(-)- perillyl alcohol 65 followed by conversion of the alcohol 66 to the crystalline mesylate, recrystallization to remove stereoisomeric impurities, and reduction with LiAlH4 to give (-)-limonene oxide 59. This was converted to the key epoxyketone 60 by phase transfer catalyzed permanganate oxidation. Control of the trisubstituted alkene stereochemistry was achieved by reaction of the ketone with the anion from (4-methyl-3-pentenyl)diphenylphosphine oxide, yielding the isolable erythro adduct 67, and the trisubstituted E-alkene 52a from spontaneous elimination by the threo adduct. Treatment of the erythro adduct with NaH in DMF resulted... 

It should be added that many other groups have contributed to the predevelopments of these inventions and also to later developments. All four reactions find wide application in organic synthesis. The Sharpless epoxidation of allylic alcohols finds industrial application in Arco s synthesis of glycidol, the epoxidation product of allyl alcohol, and Upjohn s synthesis of disparlure (Figure 14.4), a sex pheromone for the gypsy moth. The synthesis of disparlure starts with a Ci3 allylic alcohol in which, after asymmetric epoxidation, the alcohol is replaced by the other carbon chain. Perhaps today the Jacobsen method can be used directly on a suitable Ci9 alkene, although the steric differences between both ends of the molecules are extremely small ... 

About a decade after the discovery of the asymmetric epoxidation described in Chapter 14.2, another exciting discovery was reported from the laboratories of Sharpless, namely the asymmetric dihydroxylation of alkenes using osmium tetroxide. Osmium tetroxide in water by itself will slowly convert alkenes into 1,2-diols, but as discovered by Criegee [15] and pointed out by Sharpless, an amine ligand accelerates the reaction (Ligand-Accelerated Catalysis [16]), and if the amine is chiral an enantioselectivity may be brought about. 

A wide variety of salen complex analogs has been generated, and individual examples identified as being optimal for the asymmetric epoxidation of specific alkenes. Further examples are shown in Figure 11.4. ... 

After the "asymmetric epoxidation" of allylic alcohols at the very beginning of the 80 s, at the end of the same decade (1988) Sharpless again surprised the chemical community with a new procedure for the "asymmetric dihydroxylation" of alkenes [30]. The procedure involves the dihydroxylation of simple alkenes with N-methylmorpholine A -oxide and catalytic amounts of osmium tetroxide in acetone-water as solvent at 0 to 4 °C, in the presence of either dihydroquinine or dihydroquinidine p-chlorobenzoate (DHQ-pClBz or DHQD-pClBz) as the chiral ligands (Scheme 10.3). 

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