Bimetallic mechanism for the hydrolytic kinetic resolution of terminal epoxides catalyzed by Co(salen): A theoretical study

ORGN 629

John S. Sears, john.sears@chemistry.gatech.edu and C. David Sherrill, sherrill@chemistry.gatech.edu. School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0400
The mechanism for the kinetic resolution of terminal epoxides catalyzed by chiral Co(salen) has been proposed to proceed through a cooperative bimetallic pathway. We have explored the proposed mechanism using density functional theory (DFT) and high-level ab-initio techniques. We attempt to relate the enantioselectivity to the electronic properties of the catalyst as a way to guide the design of new systems with improved properties.