Polymeric metal complex catalyzed enantioselective epoxidation of olefins

Spectacular achievements in catalytic asymmetric epoxidation of olefins using chiral Mn(III)-salen complexes have stimulated a great deal of interest in designing polymeric analogs of these complexes and their use as recyclable chiral catalysts. Several strategies have been devised to anchor these chiral catalytic moieties to polymer supports, Techniques of copolymerization of appropriate functional monomers and chemical modification of preformed functional polymers have been utilized to prepare these polymers, Both organic and inorganic polymers have been used as the carriers to immobilize these metal complexes. Results of these investigations are reviewed in this article. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.