Enantioselective iron-catalysed O-H bond insertions.
The ready availability, low price and environmentally benign character of iron mean that it is an ideal alternative to precious metals in catalysis. Recent growth in the number of iron-catalysed reactions reported reflects an increasing demand for sustainable chemistry. Only a limited number of chiral iron catalysts have been reported and these have, in general, proven less enantioselective than other transition-metal catalysts, thus limiting their appeal. Here, we report that iron complexes of spiro-bisoxazoline ligands are highly efficient catalysts for asymmetric O-H bond insertion reactions. These complexes catalyse insertions into the O-H bond of a wide variety of alcohols and even water, with exceptional enantioselectivities under mild reaction conditions. The selectivities surpass those obtained with other transition-metal catalysts. This study should inspire and encourage the use of iron instead of traditional precious metals in the development of greener catalysts for catalytic asymmetric synthesis.
Zhu
Shou-Fei
SF
State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-organic Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
Cai
Yan
Y
Mao
Hong-Xiang
HX
Xie
Jian-Hua
JH
Zhou
Qi-Lin
QL
D002384:Catalysis; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry*; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D028561:Transition Elements / Q000737:chemistry; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D028561:Transition Elements; D014867:Water; D007501:Iron; D010100:Oxygen