Catalytic Asymmetric Oxidation of Alkyl Aryl Sulfides Mediated by a Series of Chiral N-Alkyl-1,2-diphenylaminoethanol/Titanium/Water Complexes

Abstract

A series of chiral N-alkyl-1,2-diphenylaminoethanol/titanium/water complexes were investigated as potential efficient catalyst for the enantioselective oxidation of alkyl aryl sulfides. The structure of the aminoethanols strongly influenced on the reactivity and enantioselectivity. Using (1S,2S)-N-methyl-1,2-diphenylaminoethanol (6) as ligand in oxidation of methyl phenyl sulfide, gave (S)-sulfoxide with moderate yield and ee.

Keywords:

• Aminoethanol
• Titanium(IV) complexes
• Chiral sulfoxide
• Asymmetric catalysis

Acknowledgments

We thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 29832020) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University ASD Fund for financial support of the study.