Bisguanidinium dinuclear oxodiperoxomolybdosulfate ion pair-catalyzed enantioselective sulfoxidation.

Zong, Lili; Wang, Chao; Moeljadi, Adhitya Mangala Putra; Ye, Xinyi; Ganguly, Rakesh; Li, Yongxin; Hirao, Hajime; Tan, Choon-Hong · Nat Commun · 2016

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Catalytic use of peroxomolybdate for asymmetric transformations has attracted increasing attention due to its catalytic properties and application in catalysis. Herein, we report chiral bisguanidinium dinuclear oxodiperoxomolybdosulfate [BG]<sup>2+</sup>[(μ-SO<sub>4</sub>)Mo<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>(μ-O<sub>2</sub>)<sub>2</sub>(O<sub>2</sub>)<sub>2</sub>]<sup>2-</sup> ion pair, as a catalyst for enantioselective sulfoxidation using aqueous H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> as the terminal oxidant. The ion pair catalyst is isolatable, stable and useful for the oxidation of a range of dialkyl sulfides. The practical utility was illustrated using a gram-scale synthesis of armodafinil, a commercial drug, with the catalyst generated in situ from 0.25 mol% of bisguanidinium and 2.5 mol% of Na<sub>2</sub>MoO<sub>4</sub>·2H<sub>2</sub>O. Structural characterization of this ion pair catalyst has been successfully achieved using single-crystal X-ray crystallography.