Disproportionation of hydrophobic dihydroarenes by recyclable rhodium and palladium catalysts in aqueous microemulsions

Interplay of Polarity and Confinement in Asymmetric Catalysis with Chiral Rh Diene Complexes in Microemulsions

Microemulsions provide a unique opportunity to tailor the polarity and liquid confinement in asymmetric catalysis via nanoscale polar and nonpolar domains separated by a surfactant film. For chiral diene Rh complexes, the influence of counterion and surfactant film on the catalytic activity and enantioselectivity remained elusive. To explore this issue chiral norbornadiene Rh(X) complexes (X=OTf, OTs, OAc, PO₂F₂) were synthesized and characterized by X‐ray crystallography and theoretical calculations. These complexes were used in Rh‐catalyzed 1,2‐additions of phenylboroxine to N‐tosylimine in microemulsions stabilized either exclusively by n‐octyl‐β‐D‐glucopyranoside (C₈G₁) or a C₈G₁‐film doped with anionic or cationic surfactants (AOT, SDS and DTAB). The Rh(OAc) complex showed the largest dependence on the composition of the microemulsion, yielding up to 59 % (90 %ee) for the surfactant film doped with 5 wt% of AOT as compared to 52 % (58 %ee) for neat C₈G₁ at constant surfactant concentration. Larger domains, determined by SAXS analysis, enabled further increase in yield and selectivity while the reaction rate almost remained constant according to kinetic studies.

Microemulsion systems for catalytic reactions and processes

This mini-review shows the diversity of microemulsion systems for catalytic reactions with the potential for process development.