Complexes, optically active schiff bases derivatives

The Schiff bases being derivatives of aldehydes or ketones and various amines have received considerable attention because of their interesting physical and chemical properties, involvement in biologically important reactions and widespread application of their metal complexes. Increasing interest in optically active Schiff bases is connected with the discovery at the beginning of the 1990s of the so-called Jacobsen catalysts used in several asymmetric reactions showing excellent enantioselectivity. 

Free ligands have been studied in order to obtain an insight into their structure, both in solution and in the solid state, and for comparison with their metal complexes. H NMR spectroscopy has been used to investigate the keto-enol equilibrium and the nature of the hydrogen bonds. In the case of optically active Schiff bases UV and CD spectra provided information about structure in solution. The Schiff bases that have been most widely examined are derivatives of acetylacetone, salicyl-aldehyde and hydroxymethylenecamphor, whose prototypes with en are shown in Figure 13. 

In addition to its use in the preparation of the square pyramidal Mo and W complexes 38 and 39, the Schiff base derived from pyridine carbaldehyde-(2) and S-(—)-a-phenyl ethyl amine54 was also used for the synthesis of optically active Co complexes of the tetrahedral type60. Unlike the Mo and W compounds, the separated Co diastereoisomers 40a, 40b one of which is shown in Scheme 20, are optically stable. The rigidity of the tetrahedral Co complexes and the nonrigidity of the square pyramidal Mo and W complexes give a further indication of the intramolecular character of the epimerization of 38 and 39. 

Another class of ligands for ATH is represented by multidentate Schiff bases and their derivatives. Zassinovich and Mestroni reported on the effective reduction of alkyl aryl ketones catalyzed by a series of lr(l) complexes with chiral bidentate pyridylaldimines, of the form [lr(cod)(NNR )]C104 (76a-f see Scheme 4.31). It was observed that both the activity and selectivity depended heavily on the nature of the subshtuents at the chiral center of the ligand, and also at the prochiral center of the substrate. Optical yields of up to 50% (R-isomer) at 100% conversion were obtained in the ATH of BuC(0)Ph and PhCH2C(0)Ph using [lr(cod)(PPEl)]C104 as the precatalyst (0.1% mol, 83 °C, PrOH, KOH) [66]. 

Recent progress in material science, notably with the development of new materials exhibiting blue phases, has generated a renewed interest in the incorporation of the functional properties with the unique structure of frustrated phases. Synthesis of a monosubstituted ferrocene-based chiral Schiff s base derivative which exhibits TGBA and blue phases has been reported [17] (Fig. 9). Other metallomesogens leading to blue phases have been found for palladium complexes [18] (Fig. 10). Optically active materials incorporating... 

Optically active cyclopropane carboxylic acid derivatives are important intermediates for drugs and pesticides. Complex 7.68, where a simple chiral Schiff base is used, is probably the first example... 

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