Chiral monomeric organorhenium(VII) and organomolybdenum(VI) compounds as catalysts for chiral olefin epoxidation reactions

Several attempts have been made to transform the organometallic Re(VII) compound MTO and the (MoO₂)²⁺ moiety to chiral epoxidation catalysts by addition of chiral organic ligands. Being very efficient epoxidation catalysts in achiral reactions, it was hoped that these compounds could be transformed into chiral epoxidation catalysts by adding chiral Lewis base ligands. The major flaw of most of these attempts, however, was the weak coordination of the chiral Lewis base ligands to the metal center, which led either to high ees only at the very beginning of the catalytic reaction (low conversion) or to generally low enantiomeric excesses. The heterogenisation of the Mo(VI) complexes was, at least in some cases, successfully achieved but with the same drawbacks with respect to the ees as in the homogeneous phase. Currently, attempts are being made to synthesize organometallic Re(VII) and Mo(VI) complexes with stronger interactions between the metal containing moiety and the chiral ligand(s).