Chiral Separation of Styrene Oxides Supported by Enantiomeric Tetrahedral Neutral Pd(II) Cages

Inorg Chem. 2019 Nov 18;58(22):15017-15020. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.9b02389. Epub 2019 Nov 1.

Abstract

The separation of enantiomers is of considerable importance in the preparation of the compounds of biological interests, catalysis, and drug development. Here, we report a novel enantioseparation of styrene epoxides (SOs) resolved in the presence of a pair of enantio-enriched tetrahedral cages. Chiral neutral cages of formula [(Pd3X*)4(C6O4Cl2)6] ([X*]3- = RRR- or SSS-[PO(N(*CH(CH3)Ph)3]3-) are constructed from Pd3 building units supported by tris(imido)phosphate trianions and chloranilate linkers. These cages exhibit considerable enantioselective separation capabilities toward a series of styrene epoxides via a crystallization inclusion method. A highest enantiomeric excess (ee) value of up to 80% is achieved for the (R)-4-fluorostyrene oxide.