Vanadium-catalyzed asymmetric aerobic oxidation

ORGN 308

Alexander T. Radosevich, aradosev@berkeley.edu and F. Dean Toste, fdtoste@berkeley.edu. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
A vanadium-catalyzed method for the oxidative kinetic resolution of alpha-hydroxy esters and amides, using oxygen as the terminal oxidant, is described. The catalyst is generated in situ from oxovanadium(V) tri-iso-propoxide in combination with a tridentate ligand derived from 3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylaldehyde and (S)-tert-leucinol. The reaction allows for the enantioselective synthesis of both saturated and unsaturated alpha-hydroxy acid derivatives, including those containing arenes, olefins, and alkynes.