Oxygen epoxidation with

Sawaki, Y., Ogata, Y. Photoepoxidation of oiefins with benzoins and oxygen. Epoxidation with acyiperoxy radicai. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1981, 103, 2049-2053. 

Because the epoxidation with Tl(III) is stoichiometric to produce Tl(I), reoxidation is needed. Halcon has patented processes based on such epoxidation to yield ethylene oxide (200—203). The primary benefits of such a process are claimed to be high yields of ethylene oxide, fiexibihty to produce either propylene oxide or ethylene oxide, and the potential of a useful by-product (acetaldehyde). Advances usiag organic hydroperoxides ia place of oxygen for reoxidation offer considerable promise, siace reaction rates are rapid and low pressures can be used. 

The second important process for propylene oxide is epoxidation with peroxides. Many hydroperoxides have been used as oxygen carriers for this reaction. Examples are t-butylhydroperoxide, ethylbenzene hydroperoxide, and peracetic acid. An important advantage of the process is that the coproducts from epoxidation have appreciable economic values. 

The methyl group is delivered syn to the epoxide via an intermediate chelate between the organometallic reagent and the epoxide oxygen. Consistent with this hypothesis is the observation that the civ selectivity is increased as the solvent polarity is decreased and that addition of trimethylaluminum, which can strongly coordinate to the epoxide, gives nearly exclusively the trans-product. In the latter reaction, it was assumed that the addition of methylcopper occurs anti to the chelated epoxide moiety, possibly via an SN2 mechanism20. 

The effect of alkali presence on the adsorption of oxygen on metal surfaces has been extensively studied in the literature, as alkali promoters are used in catalytic reactions of technological interest where oxygen participates either directly as a reactant (e.g. ethylene epoxidation on silver) or as an intermediate (e.g. NO+CO reaction in automotive exhaust catalytic converters). A large number of model studies has addressed the oxygen interaction with alkali modified single crystal surfaces of Ag, Cu, Pt, Pd, Ni, Ru, Fe, Mo, W and Au.6... 

Transition-metal atoms have been shown to deoxygenate epoxides to alkenes (36). Chromium and titanium atoms emerged as the most effective species in this regard, abstracting over two equivalents of oxygen. By studying the reaction of a wide range of epoxides with chromium atoms, the reaction... 

The stereoselectivity of epoxidation with peroxycarboxylic acids has been well studied. Addition of oxygen occurs preferentially from the less hindered side of the molecule. Norbornene, for example, gives a 96 4 exo endo ratio.76 In molecules where two potential modes of approach are not very different, a mixture of products is formed. 

The trigonal planar zinc phenoxide complex [K(THF)6][Zn(0-2,6-tBu2C6H3)3] is formed by the reaction of a zinc amide complex, via a bis phenoxide, which is then further reacted with potassium phenoxide. TheoX-ray structure shows a nearly perfect planar arrangement of the three ligands with zinc only 0.04 A out of the least squares plane defined by the three oxygen atoms.15 Unlike the bisphenoxide complexes of zinc with coordinated THF molecules, these complexes are not cataly-tically active in the copolymerization of epoxides with C02. The bisphenoxide complex has also been structurally characterized and shown to be an effective polymerization catalyst. 43... 

Hdft, E. Enantioselectivc Epoxidation with Peroxidic Oxygen. 164, 63-77 (1993). Hoggard, P. E. Sharp-Line Electronic Spectra and Metal-Ligand Geometry. 171, 113-142... 

By complexation of MnNaY with 1,4,7-trimethyltriazacyclononane, a new heterogeneous catalyst was obtained for olefin epoxidation with H202. Excellent epoxide selectivities were obtained, with limited epoxide solvolysis. The oxygenation appears to go through a radical intermediate. The manganese trizacyclononane epoxidation catalyst was also heterogenized via surface gly-cidylation.103... 

Analogous alkoxides, phenoxides, and carboxylates will also initiate the ROP of epoxides, all forming propagating alkoxide species.779 Block copolymers of epoxides with /3-butyrolactone have been prepared via the addition of EO or PO to living poly(ester) chains.782 The oxygen-bound enolate of living PMMA will also react with epoxides to yield diblocks such as PEO-b-PMMA and PPO-b-PMMA (Mn= 12,800, Mw/Mn = 1.16) 787... 

Oxidizing enzymes use molecular oxygen as the oxidant, but epoxidation with synthetic metalloporphyrins needs a chemical oxidant, except for one example Groves and Quinn have reported that dioxo-ruthenium porphyrin (19) catalyzes epoxidation using molecular oxygen.69 An asymmetric version of this aerobic epoxidation has been achieved by using complex (7) as the catalyst, albeit with moderate enantioselectivity (Scheme 9).53... 

The introduction of various metal-catalyzed reactions, however, remarkably expanded the scope of the epoxidation of Q,.3-unsaturatcd ketones. Enders et al. have reported that a combination of diethylzinc and A-methyl-pseudoephedrine epoxidizes various o,. j-unsaturatcd ketones, under an oxygen atmosphere, with good to high enantioselectivity (Scheme 23).126 In this reaction, diethylzinc first reacts with the chiral alcohol, and the resulting ethylzinc alkoxide is converted by oxygen to an ethylperoxo-zinc species that epoxidizes the a,/3-unsaturated ketones enantioselectively. Although a stoichiometric chiral auxiliary is needed for this reaction, it can be recovered in almost quantitative yield. 

Hoft, E. Enantioselective Epoxidation with Peroxidic Oxygen. 164, 63-77 (1993). 

Since its discovery in 1980,7 the Sharpless expoxidation of allylic alcohols has become a benchmark classic method in asymmetric synthesis. A wide variety of primary allylic alcohols have been epoxidized with over 90% optical yield and 70-90% chemical yield using TBHP (r-BuOOH) as the oxygen donor and titanium isopropoxide-diethyl tartrate (DET, the most frequently used dialkyl tartrate) as the catalyst. One factor that simplifies the standard epoxidation reaction is that the active chiral catalyst is generated in situ, which means that the pre-preparation of the active catalyst is not required. 

As a further example of a hydroxyl-assisted epoxidation, geraniol and nerol bearing two isolated C=C double bonds were regioselectively epoxidized with TS-1 at the 2-position (near the OH group), as reported by Kumar et al. (795). On the basis of these results, Kumar et al. (195) proposed that the transition state of the epoxidation of allylic alcohols involves coordination of the alcoholic functional group to the Ti active site and that the double bond interacts with one of the peroxidic oxygen atoms, not with the titanium site (Scheme 9). 

Hydronium ion, 14 23 Hydroperoxidates, 18 411 Hydroperoxide process, for propylene oxide manufacture, 20 798, 801-806 Hydroperoxides, 14 281, 290-291 18 427-436 alkylation of, 18 445 a-oxygen-substituted, 18 448-460 chemical properties of, 18 430 433 decomposition of, 14 279 18 431-432 liquid-phase epoxidation with, 10 656 physical properties of, 18 427-430 preparation by autoxidation, 18 434 synthesis of, 18 433-435 Hydrophile-lipophile balance system,... 

Allylic alcohols are interesting substrates for epoxidation because they produce epoxides with a hydroxyl group as additional functional group that is able to play an important role in the subsequent synthesis of complex molecules [105]. This synthesis aspect certainly benefits from the hydroxy-group directed selectivity of oxygen delivery. 

The key factor is the action of the metal on the peroxo group making one oxygen atom electrophilic. Whether or not the metal is bonded to carbon in the intermediate is not known, but also considered unlikely naturally this will depend on the particular substrate and catalyst. Epoxidation will be discussed in Chapter 14, with special emphasis on asymmetric epoxidation with chiral metal catalysts. 

Scheme 142 Cathodic epoxidation with Mn(lll)-complex and oxygen.

Like the trichloromethyl peroxide radical, peroxothio compounds can perform even nucleophilic oxygenation of substrates that are inert to Oj" in aprotic solvents. For example, stilbene is not changed in dry benzene containing 18-crown 6-ether and KOj. In the presence of diphenylsul-fide, however, the interaction takes place and results in the formation of stilbene epoxide. According to Oae et al. (1981), stilbene initially gives PhCH(00 )CH Ph anion-radical adduct. Abstraction of O from the adduct leads to stilbene epoxide with 40% yield (Oae et al. 1981). 

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