Non-heme manganese complexes of C1-symmetric N4 ligands: Synthesis, characterization and asymmetric epoxidations of α,β-enones

Trading Symmetry for Stereoinduction in Tetradentate, non-C2 -Symmetric Fe(II)-Complexes for Asymmetric Catalysis

A series of stereogenic-at-metal iron complexes comprising a non-C₂ -symmetric chiral topology is introduced and applied to asymmetric 3d-transition metal catalysis. The chiral iron(II) complexes are built from chiral tetradentate N4-ligands containing a proline-derived amino pyrrolidinyl backbone which controls the relative (cis-α coordination) and absolute metal-centered configuration (Λ vs. Δ). Two chloride ligands complement the octahedral coordination sphere. The modular composition of the tetradentate ligands facilitates the straightforward incorporation of different terminal coordinating heteroaromatic groups into the scaffold. The influence of various combinations was evaluated in an asymmetric ring contraction of isoxazoles to 2H-azirines revealing that a decrease of symmetry is beneficial for the stereoinduction to obtain chiral products in up to 99 % yield and with up to 92 % ee. Conveniently, iron catalysis is feasible under open flask conditions with the bench-stable dichloro complexes exhibiting high robustness towards oxidative or hydrolytic decomposition. The versatility of non-racemic 2H-azirines was subsequently showcased with the conversion into a variety of quaternary α-amino acid derivatives.

Asymmetric Epoxidation of Olefins with Sodium Percarbonate Catalyzed by Bis-amino-bis-pyridine Manganese Complexes

Asymmetric epoxidation of a series of olefinic substrates with sodium percarbonate oxidant in the presence of homogeneous catalysts based on Mn complexes with bis-amino-bis-pyridine ligands is reported. Sodium percarbonate is a readily available and environmentally benign oxidant that is studied in these reactions for the first time. The epoxidation proceeded with good to high yields (up to 100%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) using as low as 0.2 mol. % catalyst loadings. The epoxidation protocol is suitable for various types of substrates, including unfunctionalized alkenes, α,β-unsaturated ketones, esters (cis- and trans-), and amides (cis- and trans-). The reaction mechanism is discussed.

Bioinspired Manganese and Iron Complexes for Enantioselective Oxidation Reactions: Ligand Design, Catalytic Activity, and Beyond

The development of efficient methods for the enantioselective oxidation of organic molecules continues to be an important goal in organic synthesis; in particular, the use of earth-abundant metal catalysts and environmentally friendly oxidants in catalytic asymmetric oxidation reactions has attracted significant interest over the last several decades. In nature, metalloenzymes catalyze a wide range of oxidation reactions by activating dioxygen under mild conditions. Inspired by selective and efficient oxidation reactions catalyzed by metalloenzymes, researchers have developed a number of synthetic model compounds that mimic the functionality of metalloenzymes. Among the reported biomimetic model compounds, tetradentate aminopyridine (N4) ligands have emerged as appealing frameworks because of their easy synthesis and facile diversification, and their complexes with metals such as Fe and Mn have proven to be versatile and powerful catalysts for a variety of (enantioselective) oxidation reactions. In this Account, we describe our efforts on the design of chiral N4 ligands and the use of their manganese and iron complexes in asymmetric oxidation reactions with H₂O₂ as the terminal oxidant, aiming to show general strategies for asymmetric oxidation reactions that can guide the rational design of ligands and relevant metal catalysts. In studies of manganese catalysts, the aryl-substituted (R,R)-mcp [mcp = N,N'-dimethyl-N,N'-bis(pyridine-2-ylmethyl)cyclohexane-1,2-diamine] manganese complexes exhibited high enantioselectivity in the asymmetric epoxidation (AE) of various olefins with H₂O₂ while requiring stoichiometric acetic acid as an additive for the activation of H₂O₂. To address this issue, we established bulkier N4 ligands for this catalytic system in which a catalytic amount of sulfuric acid enables the manganese-complex-catalyzed AE with improved stereocontrol and efficiency. In addition, this system was found to be active for the oxidative kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols. Further exploration of the structure-reactivity relationships has shown that aminobenzimidazole N4 ligands derived from l-proline, in which the conventional pyridine donors are replaced by benzimidazoles, act as promising ligands. These novel C₁-symmetric manganese catalysts showed dramatically improved activities with unprecedented turnover numbers in the AE reactions. Notably, this class of manganese complexes can catalyze the oxidation of the C-H bonds of spirocyclic hydrocarbons and spiroazacyclic compounds in a highly enantioselective manner, providing ready access to chiral spirocyclic β,β'-diketones and spirocyclic alcohols. Remarkably, iron catalysts with these chiral N4 ligands are effective for AE of olefins, enabling rare examples of highly enantioselective syntheses of epoxides by the iron catalysts. Finally, mechanistic studies provide valuable insights into the roles of the carboxylic acid and sulfuric acid in the catalytic oxidation reactions. Thus, the results described in this Account have demonstrated the importance of tunability and compatibility of the ligands for the development of efficient oxidation catalysts with earth-abundant transition metals and environmentally benign oxidants, and we hope that our study will pave the way for the discovery of efficient oxidation catalysis.

Enantioselective Epoxidation of β,β-Disubstituted Enamides with a Manganese Catalyst and Aqueous Hydrogen Peroxide

Enantioselective epoxidation of β,β-disubstituted enamides with aqueous hydrogen peroxide and a novel manganese catalyst is described. Epoxidation is stereospecific and proceeds fast under mild conditions. Amides are disclosed as key functional groups to enable high enantioselectivity.

Manganese(ii) complexes of tetradentate 4N ligands with diazepane backbones for catalytic olefin epoxidation: effect of nucleophilicity of peroxo complexes on reactivity

Mononuclear Mn(ii) complexes of linear 4N ligands have been studied as catalysts for deformylation of aldehydes and epoxidation (H₂O₂) of unfunctionalised olefins to understand the role of ligand stereoelectronic factors.

Asymmetric epoxidation with H2O2 by manipulating the electronic properties of non-heme iron catalysts

A non-heme iron complex that catalyzes highly enantioselective epoxidation of olefins with H2O2 is described. Improvement of enantiomeric excesses is attained by the use of catalytic amounts of carboxylic acid additives. Electronic effects imposed by the ligand on the iron center are shown to synergistically cooperate with catalytic amounts of carboxylic acids in promoting efficient O-O cleavage and creating highly chemo- and enantioselective epoxidizing species which provide a broad range of epoxides in synthetically valuable yields and short reaction times.