title: Carbonylative enantioselective meso-desymmetrization of cis-epoxides to trans-β-lactones: effect of salen-ligand electronic variation on enantioselectivity.
abstract: Carbonylation catalysts for the desymmetrization of meso-epoxides yielding enantioenriched trans-β-lactones are reported. Fine-tuning the electronic properties of the ligand further improved enantioselectivity. The sterics of the substrate dictated whether a given electronic variation decreased or increased enantioenrichment, revealing an unexpected relationship between the substrate's steric environment and the electronic nature of the optimal catalyst.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Baker Laboratory, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-1301, USA. gc39@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mulzer
authors.forename: Jessica R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Lamb
authors.forename: Zachary
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Geoffrey W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Coates