Enantioselective chirally modified metal surfaces

Heterogeneous Enantioselective Hydrogenation on Metal Surface Modified by Chiral Molecules... 

Among the various strategies [34] used for designing enantioselective heterogeneous catalysts, the modification of metal surfaces by chiral auxiliaries (modifiers) is an attractive concept. However, only two efficient and technically relevant enantioselective processes based on this principle have been reported so far the hydrogenation of functionalized p-ketoesters and 2-alkanons with nickel catalysts modified by tartaric acid [35], and the hydrogenation of a-ketoesters on platinum using cinchona alk oids [36] as chiral modifiers (scheme 1). 

Nickel and other transition metal catalysts, when modified with a chiral compound such as (R,R)-tartaric acid 5S), become enantioselective. All attempts to modify solid surfaces with optically active substances have so far resulted in catalysts of only low stereoselectivity. This is due to the fact that too many active centers of different structures are present on the surface of the catalysts. Consequently, in asymmetric hydrogenations the technique of homogeneous catalysis is superior to heterogeneous catalysis56). However, some carbonyl compounds have been hydrogenated in the presence of tartaric-acid-supported nickel catalysts in up to 92% optical purity55 . 

The modification of platinum-group metals by adsorbed chiral organic modifiers has emerged as an efficient method to make catalytic metal surfaces chiral. The method is used to prepare highly efficient catalysts for enantioselective hydrogenation of reactants with activated C = O and C = C groups. The adsorption mode of the chiral modifier is crucial for proper chiral modification of the active metal surfaces. The most efficient chiral modifiers known today are cinchona alkaloids, particularly CD, which yields more than 90% enantiomeric excess in the hydrogenation of various reactants. 

At the basis of the application of zeolites in fine chemicals reactions is the rich variety of catalytic functions with which zeolites can be endowed. Bronsted acidity, Lewis acidity and metallic functions are well known from classical bifunctional chemistry but for specific reactions, unusual sites, e.g. Lewis acid Ti4+ centres, have been introduced into zeolites. Moreover, zeolites can acquire more or less weakly basic properties metal complexes can be entrapped in zeolite pores or cavities, and enantioselective reactions have been performed by decorating the zeolite surface with chiral modifiers. 

The history of heterogeneous enantioselective catalysis with chiral modification of the metal surface extends back even further than that of homogeneous molecular metal catalysis. However, successful precedents which result in a practicably useful stereoselectivity (e.g. of over 80%) involve only three types, all of which involve the hydrogenation of unsaturated bonds. Initially, these reactions were realized by achieving the correct solution to address all requirements for the chiral modifier. That is, the adsorption of the modifier must occur on all of the active... 

Several approaches can be used to design solid enantioselective catalysts [1-5]. In general, the solid material must combine catalytic activity with stereochemical control. The active site should be regarded as an ensemble of surface metal atoms which adsorb and activate the reactant and hydrogen and can also accommodate a soluble chiral modifier. For example, in the hydrogenation of ethyl pynivate over cinchona-modified Pt an ensemble of about 15-20 metal atoms is required to accommodate the bulky modifier, substrate, and hydrogen [6]. 

Chiral molecules on the surface of the metal colloid can induce enantioselective control. Following this concept a new type of enantioselective platinum sol catalyst stabilized by the alkaloid dihydrocinchonidine was designed [120, 121]. Chirally modified Pt catalyst precursors have been prepared in different particle sizes by the reduction of platinum tetrachloride with formic acid in the presence of different amounts of the chiral alkaloid. Optical yields up to 80% ee were obtained in the hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate. This type of catalyst was demonstrated to be structure insensitive since turnover frequencies (ca. 1 s ) and enantiomeric excess are independent of the particle size. 

One of the simplest approaches to the creation of an enantioselective catalyst is the adsorption of a chiral molecule (often referred to as a modifier) onto the surface of a metal catalyst. The metals most commonly employed for this type of catalysis have been the Pt group metals and Ni [29]. The most successful chiral modifiers have been naturally occurring alkaloids (Pt) and tartaric acid (Ni) (Scheme 5.2). Each system has primarily been used for hydrogenation reactions with Pt/cinchona producing ee values of greater than 90% for the hydrogenation of a-ketoesters [42, 43] ... 

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