Chiral ligand system for main group and transition metal catalysts

摘要

A chiral ligand system for transition or main group metal catalysts is disclosed. These ligands can be readily synthesized using inexpensive amino acids and diamines as starting materials. Several different transition or main group metals have been inserted into the ligands. The ligands have been shown to have a tetradhedral distortion that may contribute to enhanced chiral transfer from the catalyst to the substrate in chemical modifications of olefins and other reactive substrates. These catalysts have been demonstrated to be effective in catalyzing epoxidation of a variety of substrates.