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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Development of Heterogeneous Enantioselective Catalysts using Chiral Metal-Organic Frameworks MOFs
Published on: January 17, 2020
Chiral C2 -Symmetric CuII Complexes as Catalysts for Enantioselective Hetero-Diels-Alder Reactions
David A Evans1, Edward J Olhava1, Jeffrey S Johnson1
1Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 (USA), Fax: (+1) 617-495-1460.
Abstract:
Air-stable and recyclable, the CuII -(bis)oxazoline complex 1 efficiently catalyzes diastereo- and enantioselective hetero-Diels-Alder reactions between β,γ-unsaturated α-keto acid derivatives 2 and vinyl ethers for the synthesis of substituted dihydropyrans 3 [Eq. (1)]. Results of the crystal structure analysis of 1 in combination with calculations on model compounds indicate the formation of a reactive intermediate through replacement of the two H2 O ligands with a chelating substrate. X=OEt, N(OMe)Me; R=alkyl, aryl, alkoxy, thiobenzyl.
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