The cinchona primary amine-catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation and hydroperoxidation of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds with hydrogen peroxide.

Using cinchona alkaloid-derived primary amines as catalysts and aqueous hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant, we have developed highly enantioselective Weitz-Scheffer-type epoxidation and hydroperoxidation reactions of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds (up to 99.5:0.5 er). In this article, we present our full studies on this family of reactions, employing acyclic enones, 5-15-membered cyclic enones, and α-branched enals as substrates. In addition to an expanded scope, synthetic applications of the products are presented. We also report detailed mechanistic investigations of the catalytic intermediates, structure-activity relationships of the cinchona amine catalyst, and rationalization of the absolute stereoselectivity by NMR spectroscopic studies and DFT calculations.