Osmium-catalyzed oxidation reaction

C=C double bonds are cleaved by alkene metathesis reactions [1]. In addition, oxidation of C=C double bonds can also induce their cleavage [48]. For example, an osmium-catalyzed oxidation reaction of fraws-stilbene with oxone produced... 

The osmium-catalyzed dihydroxylation reaction, that is, the addition of osmium tetr-oxide to alkenes producing a vicinal diol, is one of the most selective and reliable of organic transformations. Work by Sharpless, Fokin, and coworkers has revealed that electron-deficient alkenes can be converted to the corresponding diols much more efficiently when the pH of the reaction medium is maintained on the acidic side [199]. One of the most useful additives in this context has proved to be citric acid (2 equivalents), which, in combination with 4-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMO) as a reoxidant for osmium(VI) and potassium osmate [K20s02(0H)4] (0.2 mol%) as a stable, non-volatile substitute for osmium tetroxide, allows the conversion of many olefinic substrates to their corresponding diols at ambient temperatures. In specific cases, such as with extremely electron-deficient alkenes (Scheme 6.96), the reaction has to be carried out under microwave irradiation at 120 °C, to produce in the illustrated case an 81% isolated yield of the pure diol [199]. 

Many boronic ester homologation reactions have been performed using pinanediols as chiral auxiliaries. These are readily available from (+)- and (-)-a-pinene by osmium tetroxide-catalyzed oxidation reactions (Equations B6.1 and B6.2). 

Hydroxyketones are versatile intermediates in the synthesis of pharmaceutical intermediates and heterocyclic molecules. a-Aryl hydroxyketones have been prepared by reaction of aryl aldehydes with 1,4-dioxane followed by reduction with lithium aluminum hydride (LAH) and by the selective LAH reduction of a-silyloxy a,P-unsaturated esters." WissneC has shown that treatment of acid chlorides with tris(trimethylsilyloxy)ethylene affords alkyl and aryl hydroxymethyl ketones. 1-Hydroxy-3-phenyl-2-propanone (3) has been generated by the osmium-catalyzed oxidation of phenylpropene and by the palladium-catalyzed rearrangement of phenyl epoxy alcohoP both in 62% yield. 

Whereas several catalytic methods are currently available for manganese-catalyzed epoxidation with aqueous H2O2, high turnover numbers for cis-dihydroxylation reactions so far have only been achieved with osmium compounds 161-165). However, manganese-catalyzed oxidation reactions have a few inherent advantages, such as the low price of the manganese salts and complexes and their non-toxic nature. 

Abstract The oxidative functionalization of olefins is an important reaction for organic synthesis as well as for the industrial production of bulk chemicals. Various processes have been explored, among them also metal-catalyzed methods using strong oxidants like osmium tetroxide. Especially, the asymmetric dihydroxylation of olefins by osmium(Vlll) complexes has proven to be a valuable reaction for the synthetic chemist. A large number of experimental studies had been conducted, but the mechanisms of the various osmium-catalyzed reactions remained a controversial issue. This changed when density functional theory calculations became available and computational studies helped to unravel the open mechanistic questions. This mini review will focus on recent mechanistic studies on osmium-mediated oxidation reactions of alkenes. 

Excellent chemoselectivity in the enantioselective dihydroxylation of dienes has been observed with substrates such as 324 (Equation 51) and 326 (Equation 52) [218], An interesting expansion of this methodology was recently reported by Donohoe, who discovered that 1,5-dienes participated smoothly in highly diastereoselective osmium-catalyzed oxidative cyclization reactions [219]. This mild oxidation method was combined with an initial asymmetric catalytic dihydroxylation reaction to give optically active tetrahydrofurans, as illustrated by the conversion of 328 into 330 (95 % ee. Scheme 9.42) [220]. 

Substituted 4,5-dihydro-5-vinylisoxazoles (40), obtained by regio- and stereospecific cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to dienes, undergo smooth osmium-catalyzed c/s-hydro-xylation to give amino-polyol precursors (equation 28)45. The reaction is anti selective, the diastereomeric ratios ranging from 73 27 up to 99 1. Highest stereoselectivities were observed when R3 was methyl. Thus, whereas osmylation of 40a afforded a 78 22 mixture of 41a and 42a, respectively, in 80% overall yield, similar treatment of 40b resulted in a 92 8 mixture of 41b and 42b, respectively, in 70% overall yield. The cycloaddition-osmylation sequence allows control of the relative configuration of up to 4 contiguous asymmetric centers. 

Kinetic studies of hexacyanoferrate(III) oxidations have included the much-studied reaction with iodide and oxidation of the TICI2 anion, of hydrazine and hydrazinium, and of phenylhydrazine and 4-bromophenylhydrazine. These last reactions proceed by outer-sphere mechanisms, and conform to Marcus s theory. Catalyzed [Fe(CN)g] oxidations have included chlororuthenium-catalyzed oxidation of cyclohexanol, ruthenium(III)-catalyzed oxidation of 2-aminoethanol and of 3-aminopropanol, ruthenium(VI)-catalyzed oxidation of lactate, tartrate, and glycolate, and osmium(VIII)-catalyzed oxidation of benzyl alcohol and benzylamine. ... 

Moderate enantioselectivity factors have also been found for electron transfer reactions between HRP or GO and resolved octahedral ruthenium or osmium complexes, respectively. In particular, the rate constants for the oxidation of GO(red) by electrochemically generated and enantiomers of [Os(4,4 - 2 ) ]3 + equal 1.68 x 106 and 2.34 x 106 M-1 s-1, respectively (25 °C, pH 7) (41). The spectral kinetic study of the HRP-catalyzed oxidation of and A isomers of the cyclo-ruthenated complex [Ru(phpy)(phen)2]PF6 (Pig. 21) by hydrogen peroxide has revealed similarities with the oxidation of planar chiral 2-methylferrocene carboxlic acid (211). In both cases the stereoseleci-vity factor is pH dependent and the highest factors are not observed at the highest rates. The kA/kA ratio for [Ru(phpy)(phen)2]PF6 is close to 1 at pH 5-6.5 but increases to 2.5 at pH around 8 (211). 

After their leading publication on the osmium-catalyzed dihydroxylation of olefins in the presence of dioxygen [208], Beller et al. [209] recently reported that alcohol oxidations could also be performed using the same conditions. The reactions were carried out in a buffered two-phase system with a constant pH of 10.4. Under these conditions a remarkable catalyst productivity (TON up to 16 600 for acetophenone) was observed. The pH value is critical in order to ensure the reoxidation of Os(VI) to Os(VIII). The scope of this system seems to be limited to benzylic and secondary alcohols. 

Allylic and propargylic 3-keto sulfoxides could be reduced as well as saturated compounds. Optically active allylic 3-hydroxy sulfoxides present some specific interest because of the possible hydroxylation of the double bond leading to vicinal triols. The osmium tetroxide catalyzed hydroxylation reaction of the double bond in the presence of trimethylamine N-oxide is highly stereoselective the (/ ,/ )-3-hydroxy sulfoxide gave only one diastereoisomeric triol as a result of a cis hydroxylation of the double bond and a symbiotic effect of the two chiral centers in the asymmetric induction (the (S,/ )-isomer gave a lower de). 

For oxidation reactions, the cinchona alkaloids have been mainly employed to control the osmium-catalyzed conversion of an alkene to give a 1,2-diol or vicinal functionalized alcohol. As these are important asymmetric reactions, they have been the subject of a number of reviews [1-18]. This chapter discusses the uses of these alkaloids as chiral ligands in asymmetric oxidation reactions. Oxidation reactions where an alkaloid is used in a phase-transfer sense are discussed in Chapter 5. 

---