Nitrenoid catalysts copper

Uemura and co-workers (91) demonstrated that copper catalysts effectively transfer nitrenoid groups to sulfides generating chiral sulfimides. A complex obtained from CuOTf and 55d catalyzes nitrenoid transfer to prochiral sulfides to afford products such as 139 in moderate to poor enantioselectivities (<71% ee, Eq. 78). Nitrenoid transfer occurs selectively to the sulfur atom of allylic sulfides generating allylic sulfenamide (140) in moderate selectivity, after [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangement of the initial sulfimide 141, Eq. 79. 

Various approaches to epoxide also show promise for the preparation of chiral aziridines. Identification of the Cu(I) complex as the most effective catalyst for this process has raised the possibility that aziridination might share fundamental mechanistic features with olefin cyclopropanation.115 Similar to cyclo-propanation, in which the generally accepted mechanism involves a discrete Cu-carbenoid intermediate, copper-catalyzed aziridation might proceed via a discrete Cu-nitrenoid intermediate as well. 

Decomposition of sulfonyl azides was shown to be catalyzed by copper in 1967 (72, 73). In the presence of alkenes, the reaction provides both aziridines and the C-H insertion products, albeit in low yields (73). In 1991, Evans et al. (74, 75) illustrated that both Cu(I) and Cu(II) salts were effective catalysts for nitrenoid transfer from [A-(/Moluenesulfonyl)imino]phenyliodinane (PhI=NTs) to a variety of acceptor alkenes. In the absence of ancillary ligands, reactions proceed best in polar aprotic solvents such as acetonitrile. Similar results are observed using both Cu(MeCN)4C104 and Cu(acac)2 as precatalysts, Eq. 53. 

The groundwork for this study was laid in the bis(oxazoline)-copper-catalyzed cyclopropanation reaction reported by Evans, Masamune, Pfaltz, and their coworkers (32-34) (cf. Section II.A.6). Indeed, two of these early papers reported that the same catalysts were capable of effecting nitrenoid transfer to acceptor alkenes in moderate ee. 

PhI=NTs in MeCN affords a copper species that is indistinguishable by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy from an identical solution derived from Cu(OTf)2. Given the strong oxidizing nature of PhI=NTs, it seems likely that both catalysts proceed through a Cu(II) species. Beyond this, little can be said with certainty. If nitrenoid formation proceeds by a two-electron oxidation of the catalyst, one would need to invoke Cu(IV) as an intermediate in this process (77). This issue is resolved if one invokes the intervention of a bimetallic complex in the catalytic cycle. However, attempted observation of a nonlinear effect revealed a linear relationship between ligand enantiopurity and product ee (77, 78). 

The initial screen of potential catalysts by these workers revealed that several Lewis acids are capable of effecting nitrenoid transfer to alkenes. In particular, SmLOf-Bu, a species that is unlikely to participate in redox processes, was found to work well for 7ra s-p-methylstyrene aziridination. Although the generality of this catalyst fell far short of the copper system, it raises the intriguing possibility that the Cu(II) species formed in the aziridination acts at least in part as a Lewis acid. The considerable Lewis acidity of cationic Cu(II) complexes has since been extensively exploited (cf. Section V). 

Direct preparation of an aziridine from an alkene is possible by reaction of the alkene with a nitrene or metal nitrenoid species. Nitrenes can be generated thermally or photochemically from azides, although their reaction with alkenes to give aziridines is often low yielding and is complicated by side reactions. Oxidation of iV-amino-phthalimide or related hydrazine compounds (e.g. with Pb(OAc>4 or by electrolysis) and reaction with an alkene has found some generality. The metal-catalysed reaction of nitrenes with alkenes has received considerable study. A variety of metal catalysts can be used, with copper(II) salts being the most popular. For example, styrene was converted to its A-tosyl aziridine 72 by reaction with [A-(tosyl)imino]phenyliodinane (PhI=NTs) and copper(II) triflate (5.75). ... 

A comparative study of the aziridination of styrene using a variety of arenesulfonyl azides and a Cu(acac>2 catalyst has shown that pyridine-2-sulfonyl azide and related snbstituted pyridines are particularly efficient. It seems likely that the nitrogen atom of the pyridine ring coordinates to the copper ion and drives the formation of an internally stabihzed nitrenoid intermediate. The method has been used to achieve aziridination of a range of substituted styrenes 29 in good yield and without the need for the alkene to be present in large excess (Scheme 6.15). 

To expand the utility of the direct use of sulfonamide as a nitrogen source, several effective catalyst systems have been reported. Chang and coworkers developed the alkene aziridination using 5-methyl-2-pyridinesulfonamide and Phi (OAc)2 catalyzed by Cu(tfac)2 (tfac = trifluoroacetylaceto-nate) without external ligands or bases (Scheme 2.26) [39]. It was postulated that the coordination of pyridyl N atom to the copper center was the driving force for the formation of copper nitrenoid 20. Indeed, replacement of the pyridyl N atom to CH suppressed the reaction. 

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