Dimeric Cinchona-PTCs with Phenyl Linker

Dimeric Cinchona-PTCs with Phenyl Linker 

As (—)-cinchonidine-derived ammonium salts have been mainly used as chiral PTCs in monomeric cinchona-PTCs via the asymmetric alkylation of 1, and have generally shown better results than those of others [e.g., derived from (+)-cinchonine, (—(-quinine, and (+)-quinidine], the Park-Jew group primarily prepared (—) -cinchonidine derivatives to identify both the optimal linker and best relationship of attachment for the two cinchona units, and to compare catalytic efficiency with that of monomeric cinchona-PTCs. 

The lack of any difference in enantioselectivity between the 1,4-phenyl-dimeric PTC S and the monomeric PTC M implies that the two cinchona alkaloid units of the 1,4-phenyl-dimeric PTC do not sterically affect each other. In the case of 1,2-phenyl-dimeric PTC 3, the severe steric repulsion between the two cinchona alkaloid units may lead to an unfavorable conformation, thereby affording poor enantioselectivity. 

By screening solvent and inorganic bases to establish the optimal reaction conditions for dimeric chiral PTCs, a toluenexhloroform (7 3, v/v) solvent system and a 50% aqueous KOH base were found to afford the best enantioselectivity and chemical yield within a reasonable reaction time. As dimeric cinchona-PTCs are very poorly soluble in toluene (one of the popular solvents in asymmetric alkylation), this might act as an obstacle for the catalyst to show its maximum ability. However, the addition of chloroform to toluene provided better results due to an improved solubility of the dimeric PTC. This difference in ability to dissolve the dimeric PTC might be heavily associated not only with the reaction rate but also with the chemical/ optical yield. However, the use of chloroform alone proved to be inadequate as an optimal solvent [10]. 

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Dimeric Cinchona-PTCs with Phenyl Linker... 

Figure 4.6 The dimeric cinchona-PTCs with phenyl linker.

Quite recently, one of the most efficient phase-transfer-catalyzed epoxidation methods for chalcone-type enones was developed by the Park-Jew group [11], A series of meta-dimeric cinchona PTCs with modified phenyl linkers were prepared. Among this series, the 2-fluoro substituted catalyst 5, exhibited unprecedented activity and enantioselectivity for the epoxidation of various trans-chalcones in the... 

From the systematic investigation of the Park and Jew group, several highly efficient and practical polymeric cinchona PTCs were developed (Scheme 6.6). Interestingly, polymeric catalysts with a specific direction of attachment between aromatic linkers (e.g., benzene or naphthalene) and each cinchona unit were found to be effective in the asymmetric alkylation of 4b. The phenyl-based polymeric PTCs with the meta-relationship between cinchona units such as 14, 15, and 18 showed their high catalytic efficiencies. Furthermore, the 2,7-dimethylnaphthalene moiety as in 16 and 17 was ultimately found to be the ideal spacer for dimeric cinchona PTC for this asymmetric alkylation. For example, with 5 mol% of 16, the benzylation of 4b was completed within a short reaction time of 30 min at 0 ° C, affording (S)-5a in 95% yield with 97% ee. Almost optically pure (>99% ee) (S)-5a was obtained at lower reaction temperature (—40 °C) with 16, and moreover, even with a smaller quantity (1 mol%), its high catalytic efficiency in terms of both reactivity and enantioselectivity was well conserved. 

During the search for the optimal dimeric PTC for this epoxidation, the Park-Jew group found an interesting result, namely that the functional groups of 9-0 H and 6 -OMe in the cinchona unit, along with 2-F group in the phenyl linker, were critical factors for high enantioselectivity of the reaction (Scheme 4.16). 

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