Exploring New Ligand Designs for Asymmetric Catalysis
Sukwon Hong, Department of Chemistry, University of Florida
P.O. Box 117200, Gainesville, Florida 32611-7200
Novel chiral Co-salen catalysts capable of self-assembly through hydrogen bonding have been developed. First, a self-assembled dinuclear Co(II)-Salen catalyst featuring the pyridone/aminopyridine H-bonding pair results in significant rate acceleration (48 times faster rate) as well as excellent enantioselectivity (96% ee vs 55% ee) in nitro-aldol reaction, compared to the corresponding monomeric catalyst.