Burcu Dedeoglu

A Theoretical Study of the Mechanism of the Desymmetrization of Cyclic meso‐Anhydrides by Chiral Amino Alcohols

The alcoholysis of cyclic meso‐anhydrides catalyzed by β‐amino alcohols has been investigated with DFT quantum mechanics to determine the mechanism of this reaction. Both nucleophilic catalysis and general base catalysis pathways are explored for methanol‐induced ring opening of an anhydride catalyzed by a chiral amino alcohol. The nucleophilic pathway involves a late transition state with a high energy barrier. In this mechanism, methanolysis is expected to take place following the amine‐induced ring opening of the anhydride. In the base‐catalyzed mechanism, methanol attack on one carbonyl group of the meso‐anhydride is assisted by the β‐amino alcohol; the amine functionality abstracts the methanol proton. The chiral amino alcohol also catalyzes the reaction by stabilizing the oxyanion that forms upon ring opening of the anhydride by hydrogen bonding with its alcoholic moiety. Both stepwise and concerted pathways have been studied for the general base catalysis route. Transition structures for both are found to be lower in energy than in the nucleophilic mechanism. Overall this study has shed light on the mechanism of the β‐amino alcohol‐catalyzed alcoholysis of cyclic meso‐anhydrides, showing that the nucleophilic pathway is approximately 100 kJ mol−1 higher in energy than the general base pathway.

Computational Studies on Cinchona Alkaloid-Catalyzed Asymmetric Organic Reactions

Remarkable progress in the area of asymmetric organocatalysis has been achieved in the last decades. Cinchona alkaloids and their derivatives have emerged as powerful organocatalysts owing to their reactivities leading to high enantioselectivities. The widespread usage of cinchona alkaloids has been attributed to their nontoxicity, ease of use, stability, cost effectiveness, recyclability, and practical utilization in industry. The presence of tunable functional groups enables cinchona alkaloids to catalyze a broad range of reactions. Excellent experimental studies have extensively contributed to this field, and highly selective reactions were catalyzed by cinchona alkaloids and their derivatives. Computational modeling has helped elucidate the mechanistic aspects of cinchona alkaloid catalyzed reactions as well as the origins of the selectivity they induce. These studies have complemented experimental work for the design of more efficient catalysts. This Account presents recent computational studies on cinchona alkaloid catalyzed organic reactions and the theoretical rationalizations behind their effectiveness and ability to induce selectivity. Valuable efforts to investigate the mechanisms of reactions catalyzed by cinchona alkaloids and the key aspects of the catalytic activity of cinchona alkaloids in reactions ranging from pharmaceutical to industrial applications are summarized. Quantum mechanics, particularly density functional theory (DFT), and molecular mechanics, including ONIOM, were used to rationalize experimental findings by providing mechanistic insights into reaction mechanisms. B3LYP with modest basis sets has been used in most of the studies; nonetheless, the energetics have been corrected with higher basis sets as well as functionals parametrized to include dispersion M05-2X, M06-2X, and M06-L and functionals with dispersion corrections. Since cinchona alkaloids catalyze reactions by forming complexes with substrates via hydrogen bonds and long-range interactions, the use of split valence triple-ζ basis sets including diffuse and polarization functions on heavy atoms and polarization functions on hydrogens are recommended. Most of the studies have used the continuum-based models to mimic the condensed phase in which organocatalysts function; in some cases, explicit solvation was shown to yield better quantitative agreement with experimental findings. The conformational behavior of cinchona alkaloids is also highlighted as it is expected to shed light on the origin of selectivity and pave the way to a comprehensive understanding of the catalytic mechanism. The ultimate goal of this Account is to provide an up-to-date overlook on cinchona alkaloid catalyzed chemistry and provide insight for future studies in both experimental and theoretical fields.

Cinchona Alkaloid Catalyzed Asymmetric Desymmetrization of meso‐Cyclic Anhydrides: The Origins of Stereoselectivity

The asymmetric desymmetrization of meso‐cyclic anhydrides catalyzed by the pseudoenantiomeric pairs of cinchona alkaloids, quinine (QN) and quinidine (QD), has been subjected to a computational study employing density functional theory (DFT) to understand the origin of the experimentally observed stereoselectivity. The spatial placement of the catalyst with respect to the anhydride, which resembles a molecular tweezer, was found to be the primary reason for the stabilization of the oxyanion forming in the transition states, as well as the oxyanion intermediate observed along the reaction coordinate. The distortion–interaction model has been employed to rationalize the experimentally observed enantiomeric ratios. The assistance of solvent molecules was essential in the prediction of experimental enantioselectivities.

Selectivity in the aggregates of the chiral organolithium N-Boc-2-lithiopiperidine with a chiral ligand: a DFT study

In this paper the aggregates of the chiral organolithium N-Boc-2-lithiopiperidine [Boc=CO2C(CH3)3], which play an important role in the formation of chiral 2-substituted piperidines found in many alkaloid structures and medicinal compounds, have been investigated within the framework of Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. In the complex structures, the lithium atoms are tetra-coordinated, the diaminoalkoxide ligand is tridentate to one lithium atom and forms a chelate with the substrate which is stabilized by the solvent diethyl ether. The same type of bonding was observed for all the different ligand-bound structures; for ligands 6 and 7, which have bulky substituents, selectivity was in agreement with experiment. The results shed light on the microscopic structures of these species and suggest a potential ligand, 11, to yield high enantioselectivity.

1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition Reactions of Low-Valent Rhodium and Iridium Complexes with Arylnitrile N-Oxides

The reactions between low-valent Rh(I) and Ir(I) metal-carbonyl complexes and arylnitrile oxides possess the electronic and structural features of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations on these reactions, involving both cyclopentadienyl and carboranyl ligands on the metal carbonyl, explain the ease of the chemical processes and the stabilities of the resulting metallaisoxazolin-5-ones. The metal-carbonyl bond has partial double bond character according to the Wiberg index calculated through NBO analysis, and so the reaction can be considered a normal 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition involving M═C bonds. The rates of formation of the metallacycloadducts are controlled by distortion energy, analogous to their organic counterparts. The superior ability of anionic Ir complexes to share their electron density and accommodate higher oxidation states explains their calculated higher reactivity toward cycloaddition, as compared to Rh analogues.