Asymmetric reactions in sonochemistry.

Sonochemical processes involved in asymmetric synthesis are reviewed. The goal of this overview is to provide a comprehensive picture about the fields of both enantioselective and diastereoselective reactions accelerated or initiated by ultrasounds. Since the most, in many cases comparative, data are available in heterogeneous metal catalysis, the emphasis will be placed on these enantioselective hydrogenations, however, other applications such as phase transfer catalysis etc. will also be cited.

Asymmetric sonochemical reactions enantioselective hydrogenation of alpha-ketoesters over platinum catalysts.

The sonochemical enantioselective hydrogenation of different alpha-ketoesters to the corresponding hydroxy derivatives over cinchona modified Pt catalysts is described. Ultrasonic irradiation was found to be beneficial in improving the optical yields. Besides studying the reaction rates and enantioselectivities, the effect of ultrasonics on the catalyst-modifier system and the scale-up of the process will also be considered.

Ultrasonics in heterogeneous metal catalysis: sonochemical chemo- and enantioselective hydrogenations over supported platinum catalysts.

Sonochemical chemo- and enantioselective hydrogenations over supported platinum catalysts are described. We disclose our results with respect to a sonochemical modification of the chemoselective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde over supported platinum catalysts, and the asymmetric hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate promoted by various ultrasonic pretreatments. The ultrasonic pretreatment of the supported platinum catalysts was found to be highly beneficial in almost every case, improving both the catalytic activity and selectivity. The effect of additional experimental variables, such as hydrogen pressure, catalyst support, temperature and the ultrasonic insonation time were also studied. The enantioselectivity of the hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate increased up to 97.1% ee. In the case of cinnamaldehyde hydrogenation, the selective preparation of cinnamyl alcohol became possible. The theoretical aspects of the working mechanisms in comparison with 'silent' reactions will also be provided.

Homogeneous and heterogeneous asymmetric reactions: Part 11. Sonochemical enantioselective hydrogenation of trifluoromethyl ketones over platinum catalysts.

Enantioselective sonochemical hydrogenation of alpha,alpha,alpha-trifluoromethyl ketones, namely, 1,1,1-trifluoroacetophenone and 1,1,1-trifluoro-phenylacetone was carried out over various platinum catalysts modified by cinchonidine in different solvents. Both compounds yielded the (R)-alcohol as major product. The reaction rates and the enantiomeric excesses were determined over Pt/C, Pt/SiO2, Pt/K-10 and Pt/Al2O3 catalysts under conventional conditions. Since Pt/Al2O3 exhibited the best catalytic performance the effect of ultrasound on the catalytic activity and enantioselectivity was tested using this catalyst applying different sonochemical pretreatments. These methods included a pretreatment before the reaction in hydrogen and oxygen or both. The ultrasonic irradiation was found to be highly advantageous in the case of trifluoroacetophenone, whereas only moderate changes were observed using trifluoro-phenylacetone. After insonation of the catalyst, the enantioselectivity was considerably improved. Both the aerobic and anaerobic sonochemical pretreatments resulted in significant improvement in optical yield (up to 49% and 17% ee, at room temperature under 10 bar in 1,2-dichlorobenzene). In parallel, the hydrogenation rates increased to a small extent (1.1-1.2-fold increase) after hydrogenative ultrasonic pretreatment, whereas the rates decreased by a factor of 1.5-2 after aerobic insonation. To obtain more insight into the process, the effect of insonation time on the activity and enantioselectivity and actual changes of the catalyst were also studied.