Ruthenium(II)-Catalyzed Reactions of 1,4-Epiperoxides

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo00283a023

The behavior of 1,4-epiperoxides in the presence of transition-metal complexes is highly dependent on the structures of the substrates and the nature of the metal catalysts.Reaction of saturated epiperoxides such as 1,3-epiperoxycyclopentane, 1,4-epiperoxycyclohexane, or dihydroascaridole catalyzed by RuCl2(PPh3)3 in dichloromethane gives a mixture of products arising from fragmentation, rearrangement, reduction, disproportionation, etc.Prostaglandin H₂ methyl ester undergoes clean and stereospecific fragmentation to afford methyl(5Z,8E,10E,12S)-12-hydroxy-5,8,10-heptadecatrienoate and malonaldehyde.Bicyclic 2,3-didehydro 1,4-epiperoxides give the syn-1,2:3,4-diepoxides by the same catalyst.The monocyclic analogues are transformed to a mixture of diepoxides and furan products.The stereochemical outcome of the epoxide formation reflects unique differences in the ground-state geometry of the starting epiperoxide substrates.FeCl2(PPh3)2 serves as a useful catalyst for the skeletal change of sterically hindered bicyclic 2,3-didehydro 1,4-epiperoxides to the syn-diepoxides.In addition, the Fe complex best effects the conversion of 1,4-unsubstituted 2,3-didehydro epiperoxides to furans.The Ru-catalyzed reactions are interpreted in terms of the intermediacy of inner-sphere radicals formed by atom transfer of the Ru(II) species to peroxy substrates, in contrast to the Fe-catalyzed reactions proceeding via free, outer-sphere radicals generated by an electron-transfer mechanism.