CHEMCATCHEM
FULL PAPERS
was added followed by the b-ketoester (21.2 mL, 0.15mmol). The
resulting mixture was cooled to 08C, and dibenzylazodicarboxylate
(54.0mg, 0.18mmol) was added dropwise. After 16h at 08C, diethyl
ether was added, and a precipitate was formed instantly. The or-
ganic phase was isolated, concentrated, and the product was puri-
fied by flash chromatography (AcOEt/cyclohexane) and analyzed
by using chiral HPLC (93% ee, 98% yield). The catalyst recovered
by decantation was dried and reused in a new catalytic run. Ele-
mental analysis of the precipitated catalyst Cu(OTf)2–4: calcd (%)
for C50H46CuF6N4O10S2 (1104.59): C 54.37, H 4.20, N 5.07; found C
54.46, H 4.37, N 5.31. Elemental analysis of the precipitated catalyst
Cu(OTf)2–3: calcd (%) for C38H54CuF6N4O10S2 (968.52): C 47.12, H
5.62, N 5.78; found C 47.34, H 5.78, N 5.97.
oped by Kagan. A bell-shaped curve suggests a degree of ag-
gregation of at least three monomer units (i.e., a ML3 model or
more).[23]
Conclusions
We have described the synthesis of di-, tri-, and tetratopic bi-
s(oxazoline)-based ligands and the formation of their coordina-
tion polymers with Cu. These systems were able to act as effi-
cient self-supporting catalysts in the enantioselective a-hydra-
zination of b-ketoesters, a reaction of interest for the synthesis
of b-hydroxy-a-amino acids. With the ditopic ligand 4 and
Cu(OTf)2, the reactions proceeded with 4.0 mol% of the cata-
lyst to give the products in excellent yields and high enantio-
meric excesses. Easy recovery of the catalyst has been demon-
strated in up to ten cycles without loss of activity or enantiose-
lectivity. Interestingly, the increase of the topicity of the ligand
(i.e., tri- or tetratopic bis(oxazoline)) does not improve the re-
cycling efficiency of the system and more catalyst leaching
was observed in this case, in agreement with UV/Vis titration
data. Finally, the nature of the catalyst system has been stud-
ied by nonlinear effect experiments, which reveal that the reac-
tion mechanism most likely involves an equilibrium between
the catalytically inactive homochiral metallopolymers and the
active monomeric species.
Synthesis of (S)-iPr-DiBox (3). General Procedure
1,1’-Bis[(4S)-4,5-dihydro-4-isopropyloxazol-2-yl]ethane (3.96 mmol,
1 g) was dissolved in dry tetrahydrofuran (25 mL). A solution of
1.6m nBuLi in hexane (4.31 mmol, 2.7 mL) was added dropwise at
À788C. After stirring for 15 min, the cold bath was removed and
a,a’-dibromo-p-xylene (1.96 mmol, 517.3 mg) was added. The mix-
ture was then stirred at RT for 12 h. The resulting mixture was
washed with saturated NH4Cl solution, and the aqueous phase was
extracted with dichloromethane. The combined organic phases
were dried over Na2SO4. Evaporation of the solvent gave a colorless
oil, which was purified by silica-gel column chromatography
(AcOEt/MeOH, 95:5) to yield a colorless viscous oil (1.56 mmol,
1
948 mg, 80%).[a]D25 =À0.81 cm3 gÀ1 dmÀ1 (c=0.5 in CHCl3); H NMR
(300 MHz, CDCl3): d=7.03 (s, 4H, Harom), 4.22 (dt, 3J=8.0 Hz, 3J=
1.3 Hz, 4H, ÀNCH), 4.05–3.90 (m, 8H, ÀOCH2), 3.24 (s, 4H, ÀCH2),
1.84–1.67 (m, 4H, ÀCH(CH3)2), 1.40 (s, 6H, ÀC(CH3), 0.94–0.80 ppm
(m, 24H, ÀCH(CH3)2); 13C{1H} NMR (300 MHz, CDCl3): d=167.6 (N=
CO), 134.9 (ÀCarom), 130.1 (ÀCarom), 72.0, 71.6 (ÀNCH), 70.1, 69.8 (À
OCH2), 43.3 (ÀCCH3), 41.8 (ÀCH2), 32.5, 32.2 (ÀCH(CH3)2), 21.2 (À
C(CH3), 18.8, 18.7, 17.9, 17.5 ppm (ÀCH(CH3)2); IR (KBr): n˜ =
1658 cmÀ1 (s, C=N); MS (ESI+): m/z: 607.42 [M+H]+; elemental anal-
ysis calcd (%) for C36H54N4O4 (606.84): C 71.25, H 8.97, N 9.23;
found C 70.97, H 8.89, N 9.21.
Experimental Section
General Considerations
All reactions (except catalytic runs) were performed under an inert
atmosphere of Ar or N2 using standard Schlenk techniques. Sol-
vents were purified and degassed by standard procedures. All re-
agents were used without further purification. 1H and 13C NMR
spectra were recorded by using a Bruker Avance 300 spectrometer
using the residual solvent peak as a reference (CDCl3: dH =
7.26 ppm; dC =77.16 ppm) at 298 K. HRMS (ESI) analyses were per-
formed by using a microTOF instrument (Bruker Daltonics). HPLC
analyses were performed by using a Gilson apparatus (UV-VIS156/
321 PUMP) with Chiralcel Daicel columns (AD, OD, AS) using n-
hexane/iPrOH eluents. Crystal data were collected at 173 K with
MoKa graphite-monochromated (l=0.71073 ꢂ) radiation by using
a Nonius Kappa CCD diffractometer. The structures were solved
using direct methods with SHELXS97. Non-hydrogen atoms were
refined anisotropically. Hydrogen atoms were generated according
to stereochemistry and refined using a riding model in SHELXL97.
UV/Vis absorption spectra were recorded by using a Hitachi U-
3000 spectrophotometer. ICP-AES experiments were conducted at
the RepSem-ECPM laboratory, Strasbourg. CCDC 924923 contains
the supplementary crystallographic data for this paper. These data
can be obtained free of charge from The Cambridge Crystallo-
Synthesis of (S)–iPr-MeBnBox (2)
The general procedure was followed. 4.6 mmol, 58%; 1H NMR
(300 MHz, CDCl3): d=7.24–7.13 (m, 5H, Harom), 4.26–4.19 (m, 2H, À
NCH), 4.04–3.88 (m, 4H, ÀOCH2), 3.29 (q, 4J=13.5 Hz, 2H, ÀCH2),
1.83–1.68 (m, 2H, ÀCH(CH3)2), 1.42 (s, 3H, ÀC(CH3)), 0.92–0.79 ppm
(m, 12H, ÀCH(CH3)2); 13C{1H} NMR (300 MHz, CDCl3): d=167.6 (N=
CO), 136.7 (ÀCarom), 130.5 (ÀCarom), 127.9 (ÀCarom), 126.6 (ÀCarom), 71.9,
71.6 (ÀNCH), 70.1, 69.7 (ÀOCH2), 43.3 (ÀCCH3), 42.1 (ÀCH2), 32.5,
32.2 (ÀCH(CH3)2), 21.2 (ÀC(CH3)), 18.8, 18.7, 17.9, 17.4 ppm (À
CH(CH3)2); IR (KBr): n˜ =1659 cmÀ1 (s, C=N); MS (ESI+): m/z: 343.23
[M+H]+; elemental analysis calcd (%) for C21H30N2O2 (342.48): C
73.65, H 8.83, N 8.18; found C 73.43, H 8.72, N 7.95.
Synthesis of (R)–Ph-DiBox (4)
The general procedure was followed. 1.65 mmol (53% yield);
1H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl3): d=7.34–7.55 (m, 16H, Harom(PhBOX)), 7.17
(s, 4H, Harom), 7.12–7.09 (m, 4H, Harom(PhBOX)), 5.30–5.18 (m, 4H, À
NCH), 4.74–4.67 (m, 4H, ÀOCH2), 4.23–4.10 (m, 4H, ÀOCH2), 3.45 (s,
4H, ÀCH2), 1.64 ppm (s, 6H, ÀC(CH3)); 13C{1H} NMR (300 MHz,
CDCl3): d=169.3, 169.1 (N=CO), 142.3, 142.1, 135.1, 130.4, 128.7,
128.6, 128.5, 127.6, 127.5, 126.7 (ÀCarom), 75.33 (ÀNCH), 69.7, 69.6 (À
General Procedure for the enantioselective a-hydrazination
of b-ketoesters and recycling. Reaction of ethyl-2-methyl
acetoacetate (Table 2, Entry 1)
Cu(OTf)2 (2.2mg, 0.006mmol) and 4 (4.8mg, 0.0065mmol) were
added to a vial with methanol (1.0mL) under air. The mixture was
stirred for 2h and then dried in vacuo. Dichloromethane (1mL)
ꢁ 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
ChemCatChem 2013, 5, 3078 – 3085 3083