Prochiral surfaces

Prochiral Molecules Interacting with Chiral Surfaces... 

Chirality at surfaces can be manifested in a number of forms including the intrinsic chirality of the surface structure and even the induction of chirality via the adsorption of achiral molecules onto achiral surfaces. The ability of STM to probe surfaces on a local scale with atomic/molecular resolution has revolutionized the understanding of these phenomena. Surfaces that are globally chiral either due to their intrinsic structure or due to the adsorption of chiral molecules have been shown by STM to establish control over the adsorption behavior of prochiral species. This could have profound consequences for the understanding of the origin of homochirality in life on Earth and in the development of new generations of heterogeneous chiral catalysts that may, finally, make a substantial impact on the pharmaceutical industry. 

Whereas general activities and selectivities for hydrogenations of ketones are similar to those of aldehydes, one big difference exists between the two. The hydrogenation of prochiral ketone carbonyls produces chiral carbons. Over symmetrical catalysts, racemic alcohols are formed however, over unsymmet-rical surfaces, enantioselectivity may occur. Enantioselective hydrogenations of ketones is an increasingly active research held and is covered in Chapter 3. Here we discuss that aspect of stereoselectivity associated with ring systems. 

One way to overcome the problem of chirality existing only at the metal-matrix interface is to encase the metal particle inside the chiral matrix. In that case, all of the metal surface atoms should be close to a chiral center however, this approach has some problems too. For example, access to the metal surface may be inhibited by the encasing matrix. In spite of this, several attempts have produced moderately successful catalysts by creating metal—polymer catalysts. Pd has been deposited on poly-(5)-leucine (Scheme 3.4) and Pd and Pt colloids have been encased in a polysaccharide to produce catalysts that enanti-oselectively hydrogenated prochiral C=C and C=N bonds (Scheme 3.5).7... 

The enantioselective hydrogenation of prochiral substances bearing an activated group, such as an ester, an acid or an amide, is often an important step in the industrial synthesis of fine and pharmaceutical products. In addition to the hydrogenation of /5-ketoesters into optically pure products with Raney nickel modified by tartaric acid [117], the asymmetric reduction of a-ketoesters on heterogeneous platinum catalysts modified by cinchona alkaloids (cinchonidine and cinchonine) was reported for the first time by Orito and coworkers [118-121]. Asymmetric catalysis on solid surfaces remains a very important research area for a better mechanistic understanding of the interaction between the substrate, the modifier and the catalyst [122-125], although excellent results in terms of enantiomeric excesses (up to 97%) have been obtained in the reduction of ethyl pyruvate under optimum reaction conditions with these Pt/cinchona systems [126-128],... 

One of the first attempts to explain e.s. was made by Wells and coworkers [234], who proposed that the L-shaped modifier could generate a chiral surface, by adsorption on Pt in ordered nonclose-packed arrays, allowing preferential adsorption on the metal surface of one of the faces of the prochiral substrate (template model). 

SCHEME 19. Schematic representation of the ordered monolayer of cinchonidine on a Pt surface, (a) illustrates schematically the way in which cavities in the ordered monolayer of cinchonidine on a Pt surface may serve as centers where a prochiral ketone may be stereo-preferentially adsorbed as in (b). [J. M. Thomas, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl., 28, 1079 (1989). Reproduced by permission of Verlag Chemie.]... 

Ogston s contribution led to an interesting extension of concepts concerning stereochemistry of enzyme action. Compounds of the type Ca2bd are termed prochiral, and it is recognized that an enzyme that either synthesizes such a compound or uses it as a substrate nearly always does so stereospecifically. In the case of citrate synthase, for example, it is inherently likely that the planar carbonyl carbon of oxaloacetate lies flat on an enzyme surface and that only one side of the atom is available for attack by acetyl-coenzyme A. 

We have shown how the band structure of photoexcited semiconductor particles makes them effective oxidation catalysts. Because of the heterogeneous nature of the photoactivation, selective chemistry can ensue from preferential adsorption, from directed reactivity between adsorbed reactive intermediates, and from the restriction of ECE processes to one electron routes. The extension of these experiments to catalyze chemical reductions and to address heterogeneous redox reactions of biologically important molecules should be straightforward. In fact, the use of surface-modified powders coated with chiral polymers has recently been reputed to cause asymmetric induction at prochiral redox centers. As more semiconductor powders become routinely available, the importance of these photocatalysts to organic chemistry is bound to increase. 

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