Manganese complexes pyridine oxides

Electrophilic substitution of 3-methoxy-4-methylaniline (655) by the complex 663 leads to the molybdenum complex 664. Oxidative cyclization of complex 664 with concomitant aromatization using activated commercial manganese dioxide provides 2-methoxy-3-methylcarbazole (37) in 53% yield (560). In contrast, cyclization of the corresponding tricarbonyliron complex to 37 was achieved in a maximum yield of 11 % on a small scale using iodine in pyridine as the oxidizing agent (see Scheme 5.49). 

Without additives, radical formation is the main reaction in the manganese-catalyzed oxidation of alkenes and epoxide yields are poor. The heterolytic peroxide-bond-cleavage and therefore epoxide formation can be favored by using nitrogen heterocycles as cocatalysts (imidazoles, pyridines , tertiary amine Af-oxides ) acting as bases or as axial ligands on the metal catalyst. With the Mn-salen complex Mn-[AI,AI -ethylenebis(5,5 -dinitrosalicylideneaminato)], and in the presence of imidazole as cocatalyst and TBHP as oxidant, various alkenes could be epoxidized with yields between 6% and 90% (in some cases ionol was employed as additive), whereby the yields based on the amount of TBHP consumed were low (10-15%). Sterically hindered additives like 2,6-di-f-butylpyridine did not promote the epoxidation. 

In order to increase the yield and/or the enantioselectivity of the reaction, the reaction temperature and additives were examined. Although aziridination was found to proceed smoothly at 0 °C, the product was not obtained at lower temperatures. Katsuki and co-workers have reported that pyridine /V-oxide is an effective additive for the asymmetric epoxidation catalyzed by salen-manganese(IH) complexes [24], and applied these findings to the asymmetric aziridination of olefins with Phi = NTs [9f]. Thus, the addition of pyridine /V-oxide at 0°C improved the enantioselectivity and allowed the reaction to proceed even at -20 °C (Table 6.1). Other additives, such as 4-phenylpyridine IV-oxide, 4-methylmorphorine N-oxide and 1-methylimidazole were used in the place of pyridine JV-oxide, but positive effects were not observed. 

All reported trinuclear manganese-oxide complexes possess the so-called basic carboxylate structure (Fig. 17) (62, 301-303). The three metals are disposed in a triangle with a central /z3-oxide in (or approximately in) the Mn3 plane two carboxylates bridge each pair of Mn, while the last coordination site on each metal is filled by a terminal donor ligand such as pyridine, imidazole, or water. This arrangement... 

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