An Approach to a Chiral Cycloalkanone-Mediated Asymmetric Epoxidation of Stilbene with Oxone^®

Abstract

Chiral and C2-symmetric seven-membered cycloalkanones 2-6 bearing 1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diamine and cyclohexane-1,2-diamine backbones were synthesized and evaluated their asymmetry inductive behaviours in an asymmetric epoxidation of stilbene with Oxone^®. Although the reaction of the ketones 2 and 3 of a 1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diamine backbone gave stilbene oxide in trace to 31% yield, those of the ketones 4-6 of a cyclohexane-1,2-diamine backbone gave the epoxide in satisfactorily high yield up to 98%. It is noteworthy that both reactions with use of stoichiometric and substoichiometric amounts of a ketone 4 gave the epoxide in the essentially same enantioselectivity, 17 and 18%. Eleven-membered cyclic ketones 7 and 8 bearing a binaphthalene backbone were also synthesized and examined their behaviours, while the enantioselectivity turned out to be marginal.