Chiral Ru(III) metal complex-catalyzed aerobic enantioselective epoxidation of styrene derivatives with co-oxidation of aldehyde

Aerobic Oxidations in Asymmetric Synthesis: Catalytic Strategies and Recent Developments

Despite the remarkable advances in the area of asymmetric catalytic oxidations over the past decades, the development of sustainable and environmentally benign enantioselective oxidation techniques, especially with the efficiency level similar to natural enzymes, still represents a challenge. The growing demand for enantiopure compounds and high interest to industry-relevant green technological advances continue to encourage the research pursuits in this field. Among various oxidants, molecular oxygen is ubiquitous, being available at low cost, environmentally benign and easy-to-handle material. This review highlights recent achievements in catalytic enantioselective oxidations utilizing molecular oxygen as the sole oxidant, with focus on the mechanisms of dioxygen activation and chirogenesis in these transformations.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Electrochemical Study of Tetradentate Ruthenium-Schiff Base Complexes: Dioxygen Activation with a Cytochrome P450 Model Using 1- or 2-Methylimidazole as Axial Bases

Salicylaldehyde, 2-hydroxyacetophenone, and 3,5-dichlorosalicylaldehyde react with 1,2-diaminoethane to give three symmetrical Schiff bases H2L1, H2L2, and H2L3, respectively. With Ru(III) ions, these ligands lead to three complexes: Ru(III)ClL1 (1), Ru(III)ClL2 (2), and Ru(III)ClL3 (3). The purity of these compounds was estimated by TLC technique and microanalysis while their structures were supported by the usual spectroscopic methods such as NMR, infrared, and electronic spectra. The cyclic voltammetry in acetonitrile showed irreversible waves for all three ligands. Under the same experimental conditions, it was proved that the ruthenium is coordinated in the three complexes 1, 2, and 3 showing quasireversible redox systems. The behavior of these complexes and their comparison with cytochrome P450 are investigated using them as catalysts in the presence of molecular oxygen with an apical nitrogen base: 1- or 2-methylimidazole.

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Epoxidation of Olefins Using H2O2, Part II: Catalytic Activities and Mechanism

Asymmetric epoxidation of olefins with 30 % H2O2 in the presence of [Ru(pybox)(pydic)] 1 and [Ru(pyboxazine)(pydic)] 2 has been studied in detail (pybox = pyridine-2,6-bisoxazoline, pyboxazine = pyridine-2,6-bisoxazine, pydic = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate). 35 Ruthenium complexes with sterically and electronically different substituents have been tested in environmentally benign epoxidation reactions. Mono-, 1,1-di-, cis- and trans-1,2-di-, tri-, and tetra-substituted aromatic olefins with versatile functional groups can be epoxidized with this type of catalyst in good to excellent yields (up to 100 %) with moderate to good enantioselectivies (up to 84 % ee). Additive and solvent effects as well as the relative rate of reaction with different catalysts have been established. It is shown that the presence of weak organic acids or an electron-withdrawing group on the catalyst increases the reactivity. New insights on the reaction intermediates and reaction pathway of the ruthenium-catalyzed epoxidation are proposed on the basis of density functional theory calculation and experiments.