Enantioselective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids over cinchonidine modified palladium:: Nature of modifier-reactant interaction

The mechanism of enantiodifferentiation in the hydrogenation of alkenoic acids over cinchona-modified Pd has been investigated using the tiglic acid --> 2-methyl-butanoic acid transformation as test reaction. Application of simple derivatives of cinchonidine, modified at the (C-9)-OH and/or the quinuclidine nitrogen, proved that both functional groups are involved in the enantiodiscriminating step. Addition of a strong base (1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene, DBU) to tiglic acid prior to hydrogenation revealed that one cinchonidine molecule interacts with a dimer of tiglic acid on the metal surface. Ab initio calculations corroborate the existence of an energetically favored acid dimer-cinchonidine intermediate stabilized by hydrogen bonding, involving both the OH and the quinuclidine nitrogen of cinchonidine. (C) 1999 Academic Press.