Epoxide systems

During the early development of the Jacobsen-Katsuki epoxidation reaetion, it was elear that trans-disubstituted olefins were very poor substrates (slow reaetion rates, low enantioseleetivity) eompared to cis-disubstituted olefins. The side-on approaeh model originally proposed by Groves for porphyrin epoxidation systems was used to rationalize the differenees observed in the epoxidation of the cis and trans-disubstituted elasses (Seheme 1.4.7). ... 

There are several available terminal oxidants for the transition metal-catalyzed epoxidation of olefins (Table 6.1). Typical oxidants compatible with most metal-based epoxidation systems are various alkyl hydroperoxides, hypochlorite, or iodo-sylbenzene. A problem associated with these oxidants is their low active oxygen content (Table 6.1), while there are further drawbacks with these oxidants from the point of view of the nature of the waste produced. Thus, from an environmental and economical perspective, molecular oxygen should be the preferred oxidant, because of its high active oxygen content and since no waste (or only water) is formed as a byproduct. One of the major limitations of the use of molecular oxygen as terminal oxidant for the formation of epoxides, however, is the poor product selectivity obtained in these processes [6]. Aerobic oxidations are often difficult to control and can sometimes result in combustion or in substrate overoxidation. In... 

Epoxidation systems based on molybdenum and tungsten catalysts have been extensively studied for more than 40 years. The typical catalysts - MoVI-oxo or WVI-oxo species - do, however, behave rather differently, depending on whether anionic or neutral complexes are employed. Whereas the anionic catalysts, especially the use of tungstates under phase-transfer conditions, are able to activate aqueous hydrogen peroxide efficiently for the formation of epoxides, neutral molybdenum or tungsten complexes do react with hydrogen peroxide, but better selectivities are often achieved with organic hydroperoxides (e.g., TBHP) as terminal oxidants [44, 45],... 

One problem associated with the peroxotungstate-catalyzed epoxidation system described above is the separation of the catalyst after the completed reaction. To overcome this obstacle, efforts to prepare heterogeneous tungstate catalysts have been conducted. De Vos and coworkers employed W catalysts derived from sodium tungstate and layered double hydroxides (LDH - coprecipitated MgCU, AICI3, and NaOH) for the epoxidation of simple olefins and allyl alcohols with... 

The observation that addition of imidazoles and carboxylic acids significantly improved the epoxidation reaction resulted in the development of Mn-porphyrin complexes containing these groups covalently linked to the porphyrin platform as attached pendant arms (11) [63]. When these catalysts were employed in the epoxidation of simple olefins with hydrogen peroxide, enhanced oxidation rates were obtained in combination with perfect product selectivity (Table 6.6, Entry 3). In contrast with epoxidations catalyzed by other metals, the Mn-porphyrin system yields products with scrambled stereochemistry the epoxidation of cis-stilbene with Mn(TPP)Cl (TPP = tetraphenylporphyrin) and iodosylbenzene, for example, generated cis- and trans-stilbene oxide in a ratio of 35 65. The low stereospecificity was improved by use of heterocyclic additives such as pyridines or imidazoles. The epoxidation system, with hydrogen peroxide as terminal oxidant, was reported to be stereospecific for ris-olefins, whereas trans-olefins are poor substrates with these catalysts. 

The use of the ionic liquid [bmim][BF4] further improved the Burgess epoxidation system [70]. Chan and coworkers found that replacement of sodium bicarbonate for tetramethylammonium bicarbonate and performing the reaction in [hmim][BF4] allowed for efficient epoxidation of a number of different olefins, including substrates affording acid-labile epoxides (such as dihydronaphthalene (99% yield) and 1-phenylcyclohexene (80% yield)). 

The MTO-based epoxidation system offers a particularly effective and practical route for the fonnation of racemic epoxides. Attempts to prepare chiral MTO com-... 

This highly active epoxidation system, based on the controlled hydrolysis of BTSP with a catalytic amount of water, maximizes the formation of the Re monoperoxide complex at the expense of the more thermodynamically stable bis (peroxide) (Scheme 12.8). BTSP is very stable and can be prepared in molar amounts... 

In summary one can view the ethylene epoxidation system as one where selectivity maximization requires the coexistence of the following two adsorption reactant states ... 

Asymmetric epoxidation systems using iron porphyrin heme-mimics are also known, however the labor-intensive and expensive syntheses is hmiting their applications [49]. 

A very convenient asymmetric synthesis of cyclopropane or epoxide systems developed by Johnson (184) is based on the use of chiral sulfur ylides as the agents that induce optical activity. Generally, this method consists of the asymmetric addition of a chiral sulfur ylide to the C=C or C=0 bond and subsequent cyclization of the addition product to form a chiral cyclopropane or epoxide system together with chiral sulfinamide. A wide range of chiral... 

Other Alkene Epoxidation Systems Not Covered Here but Included in Chapter 1... 

Sterically Hindered Metalloporphyrins Capable of Direct Aerobic Oxygenation. The catalytic aerobic olefin epoxidation system of Quinn and Groves, (tetramesitylporphyrinato)Ru/02/olefin substrate, effects equations 3-6, that is, the direct oxygenation of substrate using O2 as the oxidant without consumption of reducing agent 14), The (tetramesitylporphyrinato)Ru complex sterically... 

---