Asymmetric Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley Reduction Reactions

Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reductions, unlike many asymmetric reductions, involve a reversible redox reaction. Hydride transfer from the asymmetric center is believed to take place within a six-membered cyclic transition state (A) or (B), Fig. 9]. The lower-energy transition state will be that having the larger groups trans [(B) in Fig. 9]. The enantiomer of the product carbinol which results from this lower-energy transition state will predominate in a kinetically controlled, asymmetric Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction. 

Recent reviews on asymmetric Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reductions, see (a) Cha, ).S. (2006) Organic Process Research and Development, 10, 1032. (b) Nishide, K., Node, M. (2002) Chirality, 14, 759. The reaction with lanthanide metals was established by Kagan, see (c) Namy, J.L., Souppe, )., Collin,... 

Yu and coworkers reported that use of PrSBEt2 as an additive accelerates the chiral Zr-catalyzed asymmetric allylation reaction and suppresses the concomitant Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction. The presence of the additive is thought to dissociate the product from the reaction complex and to regenerate the chiral catalyst [28]. This method was further extended to asymmetric propargylation with allenyltributylstannane by the same group [19]. In contrast, Taghavini and Umani-Ronchi and their group have shown that an enantioselective allylation of... 

Perhaps the simplest case of asymmetric synthesis to visualize is a reaction between an achiral molecule and a chiral reagent in such a way that a new chiral center is created at the reaction site. One such reaction is the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction of ketones with aluminum salts of optically active alcohols. The... 

Fig. 8.36. As the asymmetric center of citronellal is unaffected by the reactions, all of the isopulegol and menthol isomers formed have the correct stereochemistry at Cl of the /i-menthane skeleton. There are therefore two strategies for recycling unwanted isomers. The first is to purify the ( )-isopulegol (172) by crystallization and recycle (178-180) back to citronellal by pyrolysis [221, 223, 224]. The second is to hydrogenate the mixture, separate the (—)-menthol by crystallization and treat the remainder with aluminium isopropoxide, which converts all of them, by Oppenauer oxidation, enoliza-tion, reketonization and Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction, to (—)-menthol, which is the thermodynamically most stable isomer (225).

In the fourth and final chapter, Howard Haubenstock discusses asymmetric reduction of organic molecules. Within this general topic of wide and continuing interest, Haubenstock s chapter deals with chiral derivatives of lithium aluminum hydride, their preparation from suitable amino or hydroxy compounds, and their use in reducing carbonyl groups. Related reactions of the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley type or involving tri-alkylaluminum reagents are also presented. 

The use of Al(III) complexes as catalysts in Lewis acid mediated reactions has been known for years. However, recent years have witnessed interesting developments in this area with the use of ingeiuously designed neutral tri-coordinate Al(lll) chelates. Representative examples involving such chelates as catalysts include (1) asymmetric acyl halide-aldehyde cyclocondensations, " (2) asymmetric Meerwein-Schmidt-Ponndorf-Verley reduction of prochiral ketones, (3) aldol transfer reactions and (4) asymmetric rearrangement of a-amino aldehydes to access optically active a-hydroxy ketones. It is important to point out that, in most cases, the use of a chelating ligand appears critical for effective catalytic activity and enantioselectivity. 

Tagliavini and Umani-Ronchi found that chiral BINOL-Zr complex 9 as well as the BINOL-Ti complexes can catalyze the asymmetric allylation of aldehydes with allylic stannanes (Scheme 9) [27]. The chiral Zr catalyst 9 is prepared from (S)-BINOL and commercially available Zr(0 Pr)4 Pr0H. The reaction rate of the catalytic system is high in comparison with that of the BINOL-Ti catalyst 4, however, the Zr-catalyzed allylation reaction is sometimes accompanied by an undesired Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley type reduction of aldehydes. The Zr complex 9 is appropriate for aromatic aldehydes to obtain high enantiomeric excess, while the Ti complex 4 is favored for aUphatic aldehydes. A chiral amplification phenomenon has, to a small extent, been observed for the chiral Zr complex-catalyzed allylation reaction of benzaldehyde. 

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