Titanium epoxidation catalysts supported Sharpless

A polymer-supported Sharpless epoxidation catalyst was prepared using linear poly(tartrate ester) catalyst ligands 43.65 This catalyst system was used in the reaction of tranA-hex-2-en- l-ol with titanium tc/ra-isopropoxide and tert-butyl hydroperoxide to afford the desired epoxide in high chemical yield and moderate enantiomeric excess. 

Allylic alcohols can be converted to epoxy-alcohols with tert-butylhydroperoxide on molecular sieves, or with peroxy acids. Epoxidation of allylic alcohols can also be done with high enantioselectivity. In the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation,allylic alcohols are converted to optically active epoxides in better than 90% ee, by treatment with r-BuOOH, titanium tetraisopropoxide and optically active diethyl tartrate. The Ti(OCHMe2)4 and diethyl tartrate can be present in catalytic amounts (15-lOmol %) if molecular sieves are present. Polymer-supported catalysts have also been reported. Since both (-t-) and ( —) diethyl tartrate are readily available, and the reaction is stereospecific, either enantiomer of the product can be prepared. The method has been successful for a wide range of primary allylic alcohols, where the double bond is mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrasubstituted. This procedure, in which an optically active catalyst is used to induce asymmetry, has proved to be one of the most important methods of asymmetric synthesis, and has been used to prepare a large number of optically active natural products and other compounds. The mechanism of the Sharpless epoxidation is believed to involve attack on the substrate by a compound formed from the titanium alkoxide and the diethyl tartrate to produce a complex that also contains the substrate and the r-BuOOH. ... 

Whereas these solid catalysts tolerate water to some extent, or even use aqueous H2O2 as the oxidant, the use of homogeneous Ti catalysts in epoxi-dation reactions often demands strictly anhydrous conditions. The homogeneous catalysts are often titanium alkoxides, possibly in combination with chiral modifiers, as in the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols (15). There has recently been an increase in interest in supporting this enantioselective Ti catalyst. 

Epoxidations. Grafting tantalum onto silica to form a useful catalyst for the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation of allyl alcohols is contrary to the ineffective titanium species on a similar support. Vanadium-complexed chiral hydroxamic... 

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