Titanium isopropoxide asymmetric epoxidation

The original report on the titanium-catalysed asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols (Sharpless system) prescribed stoichiometric amounts of the titanium tartrate catalyst in the general procedure and many applications of this asymmetric epoxidation have been carried out using stoichiometric or near-stoichiometric amounts of the catalyst. Sharpless has reported the first general procedure for the asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols using catalytic ( <10 %) amounts of titanium(IV) isopropoxide and diethyl tartrate. 

The Sharpless-Katsuki asymmetric epoxidation reaction (most commonly referred by the discovering scientists as the AE reaction) is an efficient and highly selective method for the preparation of a wide variety of chiral epoxy alcohols. The AE reaction is comprised of four key components the substrate allylic alcohol, the titanium isopropoxide precatalyst, the chiral ligand diethyl tartrate, and the terminal oxidant tert-butyl hydroperoxide. The reaction protocol is straightforward and does not require any special handling techniques. The only requirement is that the reacting olefin contains an allylic alcohol. 

The scope of metal-mediated asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols was remarkably enhanced by a new titanium system introduced by Katsuki and Sharpless epoxidation of allylic alcohols using a titanium(IV) isopropoxide, dialkyl tartrate (DAT), and TBHP (TBHP = tert-butyl-hydroperoxide) proceeds with high enantioselectivity and good chemical yield, regardless of... 

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. 

An important breakthrough in asymmetric epoxidation has been the Katsuki-Sharpless invention [1], The reaction uses a chiral Ti(IV) catalyst, t-butylhydroperoxide as the oxidant and it works only for allylic alcohols as the substrate. In the first report titanium is applied in a stoichiometric amount. The chirality is introduced in the catalyst by reacting titanium tetra-isopropoxide... 

Sharpless Asymmetric Epoxidation This is a method of converting allylic alcohols to chiral epoxy alcohols with very high enantioselectivity (i.e., with preference for one enantiomer rather than formation of racemic mixture). It involves treating the allylic alcohol with tert-butyl hydroperoxide, titanium(IV) tetra isopropoxide [Ti(0—/Pr)4] and a specific stereoisomer of tartaric ester. For example,... 

Asymmetric epoxidation of ailylic alcohols.1 Epoxidation of allylic alcohols with r-bulyl hydroperoxide in the presence of titanium(lV) isopropoxide as the metal catalyst and either diethyl D- or diethyl L-tartrate as the chiral ligand proceeds in > 90% stereoselectivity, which is independent of the substitution pattern of the allylic alcohol but dependent on the chirality of the tartrate. Suggested standard conditions are 2 equivalents of anhydrous r-butyl hydroperoxide with 1 equivalent each of the alcohol, the tartrate, and the titanium catalyst. Lesser amounts of the last two components can be used for epoxidation of reactive allylic alcohols, but it is important to use equivalent amounts of these two components. Chemical yields are in the range of 70-85%. 

Titanium-pillared montmorillonite may be used as a heterogeneous catalyst for the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols (Scheme 20) (46). The enantiomeric purities of the epoxy products are comparable with those achieved using homogeneous Ti isopropoxide with molecular sieves as water scavengers (Chapter 4). Since basal spacing of the recovered catalyst after the reaction is unaltered, the catalyst can be recycled. 

High diastereoselectivity is found in the epoxidation of fluoroallylic alcohols with titanium(IV) isopropoxide and fert-butyl hydroperoxide337. The anomalous Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation has been used in the synthesis of L-erythro- and D-threo-sphingosines338. 

Chiral epoxides are important intermediates in organic synthesis. A benchmark classic in the area of asymmetric catalytic oxidation is the Sharpless epoxidation of allylic alcohols in which a complex of titanium and tartrate salt is the active catalyst [273]. Its success is due to its ease of execution and the ready availability of reagents. A wide variety of primary allylic alcohols are epoxidized in >90% optical yield and 70-90% chemical yield using tert-butyl hydroperoxide as the oxygen donor and titanium-isopropoxide-diethyltartrate (DET) as the catalyst (Fig. 4.97). In order for this reaction to be catalytic, the exclusion of water is absolutely essential. This is achieved by adding 3 A or 4 A molecular sieves. The catalytic cycle is identical to that for titanium epoxidations discussed above (see Fig. 4.20) and the actual catalytic species is believed to be a 2 2 titanium(IV) tartrate dimer (see Fig. 4.98). The key step is the preferential transfer of oxygen from a coordinated alkylperoxo moiety to one enantioface of a coordinated allylic alcohol. For further information the reader is referred to the many reviews that have been written on this reaction [274, 275]. 

Titanium(IV) isopropoxide Chemical Abstracts nomenclature 2-propanol, titanium(4-f-) salt) is the titanium species of choice for preparation of the titanium tartrate complex in the asymmetric epoxidation process. The use of titanium(IV) t-butoxide has been recommended for those reactions in which the epoxy alcohol product is particularily sensitive to ring opening by the alkoxide. The 2-substituted epoxy alcohols (Section 3.2.5.2) are one such class of compounds. Ring opening by t-butoxide is much slower than by isopropoxide. With the reduced amount of catalyst that now is needed for all asymmetric epoxidations, the use of Ti(OBu )4 appears to be unnecessary in most cases, but the concept is worth noting. 

Preliminary results for asymmetric epoxidations of ( )-cinnamyl alcohol and geraniol using (15,25)-l,2-di(2-methoxyphenyl)ethane-l,2-diol or (15,25)-l,2-di(4-methoxyphenyl)ethane-l,2-diol as chiral auxiliaries with titanium(IV) isopropoxide and TBHP have been described. High enantioselectivity (95% ee) is observed when the 2-methoxyphenyl compound is used, while somewhat lower enantioselectivity (64% ee) and opposite face selectivity is described for the catalyst comprised of the 4-methoxyphenyl analog.Further elaboration of the scope and generality of these observations will be of interest. 

In general, the reaction accomplishes the efficient asymmetric synthesis of hydroxymethyl epoxides from allylic alcohols (Scheme 8.4). Operationally, the catalyst is prepared by dissolving titanium isopropoxide, diethyl or diisopropyl tartrate (DET or DIPT, respectively), and molecular sieves in CH2CI2 at -20 °C, followed by addition of the allylic alcohol or t-BuOOH. After a brief weiiting period (presumably to allow the ligand equilibration to occur on titanium), the final component of the reaction is added. 

The turn of the millenium will see the 20th anniversary of the seminal discovery of the asymmetric epoxidation [1, 2] of ally lie alcohols catalysed by titanium(IV) isopropoxide and tartrate esters. The utility of this transformation largely results from the regio- and stereocontrol possible in subsequent nucleophilic ring opening reactions of the derived epoxy alcohols. Thus, a sequence of asymmetric epoxidation, epoxide opening and further functionalisation leads to a diverse array of molecules in enantiomerically pure form. In comparision, asymmetric epoxidation of unfunctionalised alkenes [3] has yet to match the enantioselectivities which the Ti-tartrate system can deliver with allylic alcohols. The recent discovery of other asymmetric epoxidation reactions [4] suggests that a number of practical options may eventually become available. 

Kinetic resolution of secondary allylic alcohols by Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation using fert-butylhydroperoxide in the presence of a chiral titanium-tartrate catalyst has been widely used in the synthesis of chiral natural products. As an extension of this synthetic procedure, the kinetic resolution of a-(2-furfuryl)alkylamides with a modified Sharpless reagent has been used . Thus treatment of racemic A-p-toluenesulphonyl-a-(2-furfuryl)ethylamine [( )-74] with fert-butylhydroperoxide, titanium isopropoxide [Ti(OPr-/)4], calcium hydride (CaHa), silica gel and L-(+)-diisopropyl tartrate [l-(+)-DIPT] gave (S)-Al-p-toluenesulphonyl-a-(2-furfuryl)ethylamine [(S)-74] in high chemical yield and enantiomeric excess . Similarly prepared were the (S)-Al-p-toluenesulphonyl-a-(2-furfuryl)-n-propylamine and other homologues of (S)-74 using l-(+)-D1PT. When D-(—)-DIPT was used, the enantiomers were formed . ... 

The ability of zeolites to adsorb and retain small molecules such as water forms the basis of their use in the noncatalytic synthesis of fine chemicals (Van Bekkum and Kouwenhoven, 1988, 1989). One of the best recent examples is the use of NaA zeolite in the Sharpless asymmetrical epoxidation of ally lie alcohols (see Chapter 10) (Gao et al., 1987 Antonioletti et al 1992). In this Ti(IV)-catalyzed epoxidation by t-butyl hydroperoxide in the presence of diethyl tartrate (reaction 6.4), it has been demonstrated that the inclusion of zeolites (3 A or 4 A) leads to high conversion (>95%) and high enantioselectivity (90-95% ee). The effect of the zeolite is quite dramatic. It is believed that the role of the zeolite is to protect the titanium isopropoxide catalyst from water, perhaps generated during the reaction. 

Bao and co-workers also reported enantioselective ring-opening ami-nolysis of epoxide, 93, with benzylamine, 94, catalyzed by the titanium isopropoxide-BINOL-water system (BlNOL=l,l -bi-2-naphthol-96) in toluene (reaction 7.16) [66]. Titanium isopropoxide-isopropanol, 96, system also used by Kim et al. for asymmetric methallylation of ketones (reaction 7.17) with high yield and enantioselectivity [67]. 

The in situ catalysts formed from diethyl tartarate (DET) and titanium(IV) isopropoxide catalyze the asymmetric epoxidation reactions (72). The seminal work of Sharpless has been applied for a great variety of synthetic reactions. (The replacement of titanium with zirconium, hafnium, or thallium does not improve the chiral efficiency)... 

---