A VERY MILD, CATALYTIC AND VERSATILE PROCEDURE FOR ALPHA-OXIDATION OF KETONE SILYL ENOL ETHERS USING (SALEN)MANGANESE(III) COMPLEXES - A NEW, CHIRAL COMPLEX GIVING ASYMMETRIC INDUCTION - A POSSIBLE MODEL FOR SELECTIVE BIOCHEMICAL OXIDATIVE REACTIONS THROUGH ENOL FORMATION
Facile, catalytic, selective (racemic and asymmetric) oxidation of ketone silyl enol ethers to give alpha-oxygenated products proceeds well under very mild, aprotic conditions using a a racemic (salen)manganese(III) complex (H-2salen = bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine] or a new, chiral C2-symmetric pyrrolidine-based manganese(III) complex as catalyst, with iodosobenzene as the terminal oxidant at ambient temperature.