Titanium tartrate catalyst

In light of the previous discussions, it would be instructive to compare the behavior of enantiomerically pure allylic alcohol 12 in epoxidation reactions without and with the asymmetric titanium-tartrate catalyst (see Scheme 2). When 12 is exposed to the combined action of titanium tetraisopropoxide and tert-butyl hydroperoxide in the absence of the enantiomerically pure tartrate ligand, a 2.3 1 mixture of a- and /(-epoxy alcohol diastereoisomers is produced in favor of a-13. This ratio reflects the inherent diasteieo-facial preference of 12 (substrate-control) for a-attack. In a different experiment, it was found that SAE of achiral allylic alcohol 15 with the (+)-diethyl tartrate [(+)-DET] ligand produces a 99 1 mixture of /(- and a-epoxy alcohol enantiomers in favor of / -16 (98% ee). 

The mechanism for such a process was explained in terms of a structure as depicted in Figure 6.5. The allylic alcohol and the alkyl hydroperoxide are incorporated into the vanadium coordination sphere and the oxygen transfer from the peroxide to the olefin takes place in an intramolecular fashion (as described above for titanium tartrate catalyst) [30, 32]. 

Relative insensitivity to preexisting chiral centers In allylic alcohols with preexisting chiral centers, the diastereofacial preference of the chiral titanium-tartrate catalyst is often strong enough to override diastereofacial preferences inherent in the chiral olefinic substrate. 

Catalytic asymmetric epaxidation (13, 51-53). Complete experimental details are available for this reaction, carried out in the presence of heat-activated crushed 3A or powdered 4A molecular sieves. A further improvement, both in the rate and enantioselectivity, is use of anhydrous oxidant in isoctane rather than in CH2C12. The titanium-tartrate catalyst is not stable at 25°, and should be prepared prior to use at -20°. Either the oxidant or the substrate is then added and the mixture of three components should be allowed to stand at this temperature for 20-30 min. before addition of the fourth component. This aging period is essential for high enantioselectivity. Epoxidations with 5-10 mole % of Ti(0-/-Pr)4 and 6-12% of the tartrate generally proceed in high conversion and high enantioselectivity (90-95% ee). Some increase in the amount of catalyst can increase the enantioselectivity by 1-5%, but can complicate workup and lower the yield. Increase of Ti(0-i-Pr)4 to 50-100 mole % can even lower the enantioselectivity. 

M. G. Finn, K. B, Sharpless, Epoxidation with Titanium-Tartrate Catalysts in Asymmetric Synthesis, J. D. Morrison, Ed.. Vol. 5, pp 269-271, Academic, New York 1985. 

Finn, F M, Hofmann, K 1976, in Neurath, H, Hill, R L (eds), The Proteins, 3rd edn, Vol II, chapter 2(p 106—237), Academic Press New York London Finn, M G, Sharpless, fC. B 1985, On the Mechanism of Asymmetric Epoxidation with Titanium-Tartrate Catalysts, in Momson, J D (ed), Asymmetric Synthesis, Vol 5 Chiral Catalysis chapter 8, p 247, Academic Press New York Fischer, E 1914, Chem Ber 47,196 Fischer, H, Slangier G 1927, Liebigs, Ann Chem 459, 53 Fischer, H Neber, M 1932. Liebigs Ann Chem 496,1... 

B. E. Rossiter (1985). Synthetic aspects and application of asymmetric epoxidation , in Asymmetric Synthesis. Ed. J. Morrison. Orlando Academic Press, p. 194 M. G. Finn and K. B. Sharpless On the mechanism of asymmetric epoxidation with titanium-tartrate catalysts . Ibid., p. 247. 

This section presents a summary of the currently preferred conditions fw perfrmning titanium-catalyzed asymmetric epoxidations and is derived primarily from the detailed account of Gao et al We wish to draw the reader s attention to several aspects of the terminology used here and throughout this chapter. The terms titanium tartrate complex and titanium tartrate catalyst are used interchangeably. The term stoichiometric reaction refers to the use of the titanium tartrate complex in a stoichiometric ratio (100 mol %) relative to the substrate (allylic alcohol). The term catalytic reaction (or quantity) refers to the use of the titanium tartrate complex in a catalytic ratio (usually S-10 mol %) relative to the substrate. 

The addition of activated molecular sieves (zeolites) to the asymmetric epoxidation milieu has the beneficial effect that virtually all reactions can be carried out with only 5-10 mol % of the titanium tartrate catalyst. Without molecular sieves, only a few of the more reactive allylic alcohols are epox-idized efficiently with less than an equivalent of the catalyst. The role of the molecular sieves is thought to be protection of the catalyst from adventitious water and water that may be generated in sn l amounts by side reactions during the epoxidation process. 

In this case, the optically active allylic alcohol (12) was subjected to epoxidation with both antipodes of the titanium tartrate catalyst. With (-h)-DIPT enantiofacial selectivity was 96 4 ( matched pair ), but with (-)-DIPT selectivity fell to only 1 3 ( mismatched pair ), a further indication that a sec-ondaiy C-2 substituent can perturb the fit of the substrate to the active catalyst species. In the epoxidation of the allylic alcohol shown in elation (4), the epoxy alcohol is obtained in 96% yield and with a 14 1 ratio of enantiofacial selectivity. An interesting alternate route to the epoxide of entry 12 (Table 3) has been described, in which 2-r-butylpropene is first converted to an allylic hydroperoxide via photooxyge-nation and then, in the presence of the titanium tartrate catalyst, undergoes asymmetric epoxidation (79%... 

Fortunately, a wide variety of functionality is compatible with the titanium tartrate catalyst (see Table 1), but the judicious placement of functional groups relative to the allylic alcohol can lead to further desirable reactions following epoxidation. For example, in (40), asymmetric epoxidation of the allylic alcohol is followed by intramolecular cyclization un r the reaction conditions to give the tetrahydrofuran... 

The rationale that explains the Icinetic resolution of the l-monosubstituted allylic alct ols predicts that a 1,1-disubstituted allylic alct ol will be difficult to epoxidize with the titanium tartrate catalyst In practice, the epoxidation of 1,1-dimethylallyl alcohd (88) with a stoichiometric quantity of the titanium tartrate complex is veiy slow and no epoxy alcohol is isolated. Qearly, the rate of qmxidadon of this substrate is slower than the subsequent reacdon(s) of the epoxide. 

The scope of kinetic resolution of this type is not limited to alcohol derivatives but can be extended to N-tosylamino derivatives when the titanium-tartrate catalyst modified with calcium hydride and silica gel is used. Resolution of AT-tosylamines 47 is effected with high efficiency but the configuration of the slow reacting isomer is opposite to that expected from the empirical rules for kinetic resolution (Scheme 11) The (R)-isomer of 47 is oxidized prior to the (S)-isomer when (-i-)-DIPT is used as a chiral auxiliary. Again, the A -piperidone 49 of high enantiopurity can be obtained by oxidation of the enantioenriched furylamines 48 with ra-CPBA [79]. 

Titanium alkoxides are effective homogeneous catalysts for the epoxidation of substituted olefins. Their propensity for association to multinuclear species is also well-established (6). The active form of a homogeneous, enantioselective titanium-tartrate catalyst was demonstrated to be dinuclear in titanium (7). In contrast, heterogeneous catalysts consisting of titanium embedded in an aluminosilicate framework contain mostly isolated titanium sites (8), although the assertion that such sites are uniquely responsible for catalyst activity is based on... 

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. 

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 . ... 

---