Epoxidation electron-deficient olefins

Iodosylbenzene is sufficiendy reactive on its own to epoxidize electron-deficient olefins such as tetracyanoethylene (43). It is possible that coordinated monomeric iodosylbenzene is substantially more reactive than polymeric iodosylbenzene and that complexation of a monomeric form is sufficient to provide the requisite reactivity with normal olefins. 

Scheme 61 Epoxidation of electron deficient olefins with silver complexes.

Asymmetric epoxidation of olefins is an effective approach for the synthesis of enan-tiomerically enriched epoxides. A variety of efficient methods have been developed [1, 2], including Sharpless epoxidation of allylic alcohols [3, 4], metal-catalyzed epoxidation of unfunctionalized olefins [5-10], and nucleophilic epoxidation of electron-deficient olefins [11-14], Dioxiranes and oxazirdinium salts have been proven to be effective oxidation reagents [15-21], Chiral dioxiranes [22-28] and oxaziridinium salts [19] generated in situ with Oxone from ketones and iminium salts, respectively, have been extensively investigated in numerous laboratories and have been shown to be useful toward the asymmetric epoxidation of alkenes. In these epoxidation reactions, only a catalytic amount of ketone or iminium salt is required since they are regenerated upon epoxidation of alkenes (Scheme 1). 

A high catalyst loading (typically 20-30 mol%) is usually required for the epoxidation with ketone 26 because Baeyer-Vilhger oxidation presumably decomposes the catalyst during the epoxidation. The fused ketal moiety in ketone 26 was replaced by a more electron-withdrawing oxazohdinone (32) and acetates (33) with the anticipation that these replacements would decrease the amount of decomposition via Baeyer-Villiger oxidation (Fig. 8) [71, 72]. Only 5 mol% (1 mol% in some cases) of ketone 32 was needed to get comparable reactivity and enantioselectivity with 20-30 mol% of ketone 26 [71]. Since dioxiranes are electrophilic reagents, they show low reactivity toward electron-deficient olefins, such as a, 3-unsaturated esters. Ketone 33, readily available from ketone 26, was found to be an effective catalyst towards the epoxidation of a, 3-unsaturated esters [72]. 

Next to the base-catalyzed asymmetric epoxidations of electron-deficient olefins with chiral hydroperoxides described above, a few examples of uncatalyzed epoxidations with... 

One of the early examples for organocatalysis is the asymmetric Weitz-Scheffer epoxidation of electron-deficient olefins, which can be effected either by organic chiral phase transfer catalysts (PTC) under biphasic conditions or by polyamino acids. This reaction has gained considerable attention and is of great synthetic use. 

SCHEME 54. Zinc-mediated asymmetric epoxidation of electron-deficient olefins... 

Electron-deficient olefins, asymmetric epoxidation, 386-91 Electron diffraction dialkyl peroxides, 713 ozonides, 721, 723 1,2,4-trioxolanes, 740 see also Gas electron diffraction Electron-donating substituents ene reactions, 841 sulfonyl peroxides, 1005-7 Electronegative functional groups,... 

The Ni(II) complexes of salen analogues with bipyridine units 36 showed higher catalytic activity than Ni(IIXsalen) in the epoxidation of an electron-deficient olefin, allyl chloride. Their enhanced reactivity was ascribed partially to their higher stability relative to the salen complex (98). 

The catalytic asymmetric epoxidation of electron-deficient olefins has been regarded as one of the most representative asymmetric PTC reactions, and various such systems have been reported (Scheme 3.12). Lygo reported the asymmetric epoxidation of chalcone derivatives through the use of NaOCl [30,31], while Shioiri and Arai used aqueous H202 as an oxidant, their results indicating hydrogen bonding between the catalyst and substrates because an OH functionality in the catalyst was essential... 

The catalytic asymmetric epoxidation of electron-deficient olefins, particularly a,P-unsaturated ketones, has been the subject of numerous investigations, and as a result a number of useful methodologies have been elaborated [44], Among these, the method utilizing chiral phase-transfer catalysis occupies a unique position in terms of its practical advantages. Moreover, it also allows the highly enantioselective epoxidation of trans-a,P-unsaturated ketones, particularly chalcone. 

Porter M. J. and Skidmore, J. Asymmetric epoxidation of electron-deficient olefins, Chem. Commun., 2000, 1215-1225. 

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