Thiazolium carboxylates catalysts

The use of thiazolium salts enables the benzoin condensation to proceed at room temperature. It can also be performed in dipolar aptotic solvents or under phase transfer conditions. Thiazolium salts such as vitamin Bi, thiazolium salts attached to y-cyclodextrin, macrobicyclic thiazolium salts, thiazolium carboxylate, ° naphtho[2,l-d]thiazolium and benzothiazolium salts catalyze the benzoin condensation and quaternary salts of 1-methylbenzimidazole and 4-(4-chlorophenyl)-4//-1,2,4-triazole are reported to have similar catalytic activity. Alkylation of 2-hydroxyethyl-4-methyl-l,3-thiazole with benzyl chloride, methyl iodide, ethyl bromide and 2-ethoxyethyl bromide yields useful salts for catalyzing 1,4-addition of aldehydes to activated double bonds. Insoluble polymer-supported thiazolium salts are catalysts for the benzoin condensation and for Michael addition of aldehydes. Electron rich al-kenes such as bis(l,3-dialkylimidazolidin-2-ylidenes) bearing primary alkyl substituents at the nitrogen atoms or bis(thiazolin-2-ylidene) bearing benzyl groups at the nitrogen atoms are examples of a new class of catalyst for the conversion of ArCHO into ArCHOHCOAr. 

The broad scope of the catalytic generation of activated carboxylates was demonstrated by Bode et al. in the diastereoselective synthesis of / -hydroxy esters 79 from a,/ -epoxy aldehydes 80 employing achiral thiazolium salts 81 as precatalysts (Scheme 9.24) [67]. The incorporation of a reducible functionality into the aldehyde substrate is the premise for a catalyst-induced intramolecular redox reaction generating the activated carboxylate 82. 

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