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Updated: Mar 28, 2026

Development of Heterogeneous Enantioselective Catalysts using Chiral Metal-Organic Frameworks MOFs
Published on: January 17, 2020
A discrete {Co4(μ3-OH)4}(4+) cluster with an oxygen-rich coordination environment as a catalyst for the epoxidation
Sun Young Lee1, Namseok Kim2, Myoung Mi Lee1
1Department of Fine Chemistry, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 139-743, Korea. ohno801126@nate.com chealkim@seoultech.ac.kr.
Abstract:
Using the sterically hindered terphenyl-based carboxylate, the tetrameric Co(ii) complex [Co4(μ3-OH)4(μ-O2CAr(4F-Ph))2(μ-OTf)2(Py)4] () with an asymmetric cubane-type core has been synthesized and fully characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-vis spectroscopy, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Interestingly, the cubane-type cobalt cluster with 3-chloroperoxybenzoic acid as the oxidant was found to be very effective in the epoxidation of a variety of olefins, including terminal olefins which are more challenging targeting substrates. Moreover, this catalytic system showed a fast reaction rate and high epoxide yields under mild conditions. Based on product analysis and Hammett studies, the use of peroxyphenylacetic acid as a mechanistic probe, H2(18)O-exchange experiments, and EPR studies, it has been proposed that multiple reactive cobalt-oxo species Co(V)[double bond, length as m-dash]O and Co(IV)[double bond, length as m-dash]O were involved in the olefin epoxidation.
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