Enantiomeric dimers

An asymmetric photosynthesis may be performed inside a crystal of -cinnamide grown in the presence of E-cinnamic acid and considered in terms of the analysis presented before on the reduction of crystal symmetry (Section IV-J). We envisage the reaction as follows The amide molecules are interlinked by NH O hydrogen bonds along the b axis to form a ribbon motif. Ribbons that are related to one another across a center of inversion are enantiomeric and are labeled / and d (or / and d ) (Figure 39). Molecules of -cinnamic acid will be occluded into the d ribbon preferentially from the +b side of the crystal and into the / ribbon from the — b side. It is well documented that E-cinnamide photodimerizes in the solid state to yield the centrosymmetric dimer tnixillamide. Such a reaction takes place between close-packed amide molecules of two enantiomeric ribbons, d and lord and / (95). It has also been established that solid solutions yield the mixed dimers (Ila) and (lib) (Figure 39) (96). Therefore, we expect preferential formation of the chiral dimer 11a at the + b end of the crystal and of the enantiomeric dimer lib at the —b end of the crystal. Preliminary experimental results are in accordance with this model (97). 

The commercially available acetal dimer (1), and the enantiomeric dimer, can also be used as reagents instead of the lactols. As an alternative to the (2i )-enantiomer of the endo-lactol, one can use the exo-lactol (2), or the corresponding acetal dimer. Compound (2) is prepared from (+)-camphor, as is the (2S)-enantiomer of the endo-lactol, but the two reagents show opposite sense of enantiomer selectivity in acetal formation. 

When the structure of one of the two-component crystals was obtained and analyzed (15), it was concluded that the ground state orientation of the components would predict essentially no face discrimination and that approximately equimolar amounts of the enantiomeric dimers 4a and 4b should have been obtained. As a result, it was concluded that the thiophene compound must deform in the excited state to an arrangement that favors the formation of one of the products. This hypothesis was supported by theoretical calculations based on the assumption that the reaction proceeds through an intermediate exciplex (16) spectroscopic evidence for such a species was found in the case of diene 1 (17). 

In the present study the dimer (salen)CoAlX3 showed enhanced activity and enantioselectivity. The catalyst can be synthesized easily by readily commercially available precatalyst Co(salen) in both enantiomeric forms. Potentially, the catalyst may be used on an industrial scale and could be recycled. Currently we are looking for the applicability of the catalyst to asymmetric reaction of terminal and meso epoxides with other nucleophiles and related electrophile-nucleophile reactions. 

Ethyl 4-[2-(4-pyridyl)ethenyl]cinnamate (5 OEt) crystals (j8-type packing) gives an optically active dimer through a topochemical [2-1-2] photocycloaddition (enantiomeric effect >90%). The asymmetric induction is ex-... 

FIGURE 2.20 Schematic presentation of the hydrogen-bonded cyclic dimers of enantiomeric antipodes of 2-phenylpropionic acid, Ibuprofen, and Naproxen (the latter two compounds are drugs from the group of profens). 

Sila-procyclidine, (cyclohexyl)phenyl[2-pyrrolidin-l-yl]silanol, may be prepared by hydrolysis of the corresponding methoxysilane (220) and is interesting in that it can form two types of hydrogen-bonded structure depending on whether it is enantiomerically pure or a racemate. In the racemate, the compound forms centrosymmetric dimers of (R)- and (S)-configuration molecules with an 0---N distance of 1.791 A. In the pure (R)-compound, however, the molecules are linked into infinite chains via intermolecular 0-H---N hydrogen bonds (0---N distance 2.792 A) (221), again similar to those in (2-morpholinoethyl)diphenylsilanol shown in Fig. 3. 

It would be ideal if the asymmetric addition could be done without a protecting group for ketone 36 and if the required amount of acetylene 37 would be closer to 1 equiv. Uthium acetylide is too basic for using the non-protected ketone 36, we need to reduce the nucleophile s basicity to accommodate the acidity of aniline protons in 36. At the same time, we started to understand the mechanism of lithium acetylide addition. As we will discuss in detail later, formation of the cubic dimer of the 1 1 complex of lithium cyclopropylacetylide and lithium alkoxide of the chiral modifier3 was the reason for the high enantiomeric excess. However, due to the nature of the stable and rigid dimeric complex, 2 equiv of lithium acetylide and 2 equiv of the lithium salt of chiral modifier were required for the high enantiomeric excess. Therefore, our requirements for a suitable metal were to provide (i) suitable nucleophilicity (ii) weaker basicity, which would be... 

Kitamura and Noyori have reported mechanistic studies on the highly diastere-omeric dialkylzinc addition to aryl aldehydes in the presence of (-)-i-exo-(dimethylamino)isoborneol (DAIB) [33]. They stated that DAIB (a chiral (i-amino alcohol) formed a dimeric complex 57 with dialkylzinc. The dimeric complex is not reactive toward aldehydes but a monomeric complex 58, which exists through equilibrium with the dimer 57, reacts with aldehydes via bimetallic complex 59. The initially formed adduct 60 is transformed into tetramer 61 by reaction with either dialkylzinc or aldehydes and regenerates active intermediates. The high enantiomeric excess is attributed to the facial selectivity achieved by clear steric differentiation of complex 59, as shown in Scheme 1.22. 

For a mixture of enantiomers it is thus possible to determine the ee-value without recourse to complicated calibration. The fact that the method is theoretically valid only if the g factor is independent of concentration and if it is linear with respect to ee has been emphasized repeatedly.84-89 However, it needs to be pointed out that these conditions may not hold if the chiral compounds form dimers or aggregates, because such enantiomeric or diastereomeric species would give rise to their own particular CD effects.88 Although such cases have yet to be reported, it is mandatory that this possibility be checked in each new system under study. 

As shown in the previous two sections, rhodium(n) dimers are superior catalysts for metal carbene C-H insertion reactions. For nitrene C-H insertion reactions, many catalysts found to be effective for carbene transfer are also effective for these reactions. Particularly, Rh2(OAc)4 has demonstrated great effectiveness in the inter- and intramolecular nitrene C-H insertions. The exploration of enantioselective C-H amination using chiral rhodium catalysts has been reported by several groups.225,244,253-255 Hashimoto s dirhodium tetrakis[A-tetrachlorophthaloyl-(A)-/ r/-leuci-nate], Rh2(derived rhodium complex, Rh2(i -BNP)4 48,244 afforded moderate enantiomeric excess for amidation of benzylic C-H bonds with NsN=IPh. 

Studies of the transfer of Br+ and I+ from amine-coordinated halonium ions to acceptor l-co-alkenols have been undertaken to determine the mechanism in an effort to assist in the development of chiral transfer reagents. Transfer of Br+ and I+ from two commercially available dimeric hydroquinine and hydroquinidine ligands ((DHQ)2PHAL and (DHQD)2PHAL) to various 1, (o-alkenols and l,co-alkenoic acids is shown to provide enantiomeric excesses of 4-47% depending on the acceptor alkene. 

Table 3. Enantiomeric excesses obtained from halocyclizations of various l,o-alkenols or l,co-alkenoic acids with halonium ions of dimeric hydroquinidine or dimeric hydroquinine species 14,15,16. ... 

During the first decade when solid-phase synthesis was executed using Fmoc/tBu chemistry, the first Fmoc-amino acid was anchored to the support by reaction of the symmetrical anhydride with the hydroxymethylphenyl group of the linker or support. Because this is an esterification reaction that does not occur readily, 4-dimethylaminopyridine was employed as catalyst. The basic catalyst caused up to 6% enantiomerization of the activated residue (see Section 4.19). Diminution of the amount of catalyst to one-tenth of an equivalent (Figure 5.21, A) reduced the isomerization substantially but did not suppress it completely. As a consequence, the products synthesized during that decade were usually contaminated with a small amount of the epimer. In addition, the basic catalyst was responsible for a second side reaction namely, the premature removal of Fmoc protector, which led to loading of some dimer of the first residue. Nothing could be done about the situation,... 

Figure 39. Four ribbons of cinnamide (phenyl = ) molecules. Ribbons / and l, d and d are related by translation. Ribbons d and /, d and l make plane-to-plane contacts of 4 A across centers of symmetry. Ribbon / is above d, and ribbon d is below l. Cinnamic acid molecules (filled circles) have been introduced into the structure in the allowed sites, assuming the crystal grows from the center in the two opposite directions +b and —b. The dimers obtained at the two opposite sides are enantiomeric.

A most interesting extension of this type of reaction was performed by Addadi and Lahav (175). Their aim was to obtain chiral polymers by performing die reaction in a crystal of chiral structure. They employed monomers 103. The initial experiments were with a chiral resolved 103 where R1 is (R)- or ( -sec-butyl and R2 is C2H3. This material indeed crystallizes in the required structure, and yields photodimers and polymers with the expected stereochemistry, and with quantitative diastereomeric yield. It was possible to establish that the asymmetric induction was due essentially only to the chirality of the crystal structure and not to direct influences of the sec-butyl. Subsequently they were able, using sophisticated crystal engineering, to obtain chiral crystals from nonchiral 103, and from them dimers and polymers with high, probably quantitative enantiomeric yields. This may be described as an absolute asymmetric polymerization. 

The culmination of the studies on asymmetric photodimerization reactions in the solid state was the successful elaboration of chemical systems that are achiral but crystallize in chiral structures, and that yield, on irradiation, dimers, trimers, and higher oligomers in quantitative enantiomeric yield (175,258). 

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