Brønsted Acid-Catalyzed Carbonyl-Olefin Metathesis inside a Self-Assembled Supromolecular Host

Carbonyl-olefin metathesis represents a powerful yet underdeveloped method for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds. So far, no Brønsted acid based method for the catalytic carbonyl-olefin metathesis has been described. Herein, a cocatalytic system based on a simple Brønsted acid (HCl) and a self‐assembled supramolecular host is presented. The developed system compares well with the current benchmark catalyst for carbonyl-olefin metathesis in terms of substrate scope and yield of isolated product. Control experiments provide strong evidence that the reaction proceeds inside the cavity of the supramolecular host. A mechanistic probe indicates that a stepwise reaction mechanism is likely

Requirements for Terpene Cyclizations inside the Supramolecular Resorcinarene Capsule: Bound Water and its Protonation Determine the Catalytic Activit

he elucidation of the requirements for efficient catalysis within supramolecular host systems is an important prerequisite for developing novel supramolecular catalysts. The resorcinarene hexamer has recently been shown to be the first supramolecular catalyst to promote the tail-to-head terpene cyclization in a biomimetic fashion. We herein present the synthesis of a number of resorcinarene-based macrocycles composed of different ratios of resorcinol and pyrogallol units capable of self-assembly and compare the corresponding assemblies regarding their catalytic activity in the cyclization of monoterpenes. The assemblies were investigated in detail with respect to a number of properties including the encapsulation of substrate and ion pairs, the structural incorporation of water, and the response to externally added acid (HCl). The results obtained strongly indicate that water incorporated into the hydrogen-bond network of the self-assembled structure plays an integral role for catalysis, effectively acting as a proton shuttle to activate the encapsulated substrate. These findings are also supported by molecular dynamics simulations, providing further insight into the protonation pathway and the relative energies of the intermediates involved

To catalyze or not to catalyze: elucidation of the subtle differences between the hexameric capsules of pyrogallolarene and resorcinarene

The closely related, self-assembled resorcinarene and pyrogallolarene capsules display contrasting and puzzling encapsulation behaviors. Herein, we elucidate the reasons for these differences by combining experimental studies and DFT calculations. Furthermore, we report that, in contrast to the resorcinarene capsule, the pyrogallolarene derivative is not capable of catalyzing reactions with cationic transition states. The molecular mechanisms responsible for these observations are probed in detail

Catalysis inside the Hexameric Resorcinarene Capsule

Conspectus In this Account, we outline our investigation into the supramolecular resorcinarene capsule as a catalyst. Molecular capsules not only are of interest due to the similarities of their binding pockets with those of natural enzymes but also feature potential advantages for catalysis. Due to the restricted internal volume of the binding pockets, substrate selectivities are commonly observed. Substrates that are encapsulated more efficiently will be converted selectively in the presence of less suitable substrates. This size selectivity cannot be obtained in a regular solution experiment. In addition, because of the distinct chemical environment inside the capsule, different product selectivities may be observed. Furthermore, the encapsulation of reactive catalysts inside confined environments may improve catalyst compatibility for multicatalyst tandem reactions. Although the potential advantages of performing catalysis inside closed microenvironments are generally recognized, the number of known catalytically active supramolecular host systems is still very limited. There are several reasons, the most important of which is that it is very difficult to predict the catalytic potential of known supramolecular host systems. In several cases, even the encapsulation behavior of host systems is not completely understood or explored. Therefore, it is evident that further research is required to explore the potential of catalysis inside supramolecular capsules. Our initial research mainly focused on understanding the puzzling encapsulation behavior of the self-assembled resorcinarene capsule I and the closely related pyrogallolarene capsule II. After the elucidation of the decisive differences between these two systems, we explored the catalytic potential of capsule I. A variety of different reactions were successfully performed inside its cavity. The most important examples highlighted in this Account are iminium catalysis, the tail-to-head terpene cyclization, and the carbonyl–olefin metathesis. In the case of proline-mediated iminium catalysis, we were able to demonstrate that the enantioselectivity for the product formation was increased when the reaction was performed inside the cavity of capsule I. This is remarkable since the capsule is formed from achiral building blocks and, therefore, does not add chiral information to the reaction mixture. The tail-to-head terpene cyclization is the most complex reaction performed so far inside capsule I. The cyclic monoterpenes eucalyptol and α-terpinene were formed in useful yields. Interestingly, these products have not yet been synthetically accessible in solution directly from acyclic terpene precursors. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the cocatalytic system of capsule I and HCl is suitable for carbonyl-olefin metathesis. HCl was shown to be an inefficient catalyst for this reaction in solution experiments. This demonstrates that the different chemical environment inside the supramolecular container can lead to altered product selectivity. In general, we hope to demonstrate in this Account that research on catalysis inside supramolecular capsules, although still in its infancy, is starting to produce the first synthetically relevant results

Concentration-Dependent Self-Assembly of an Unusually Large Hexameric Hydrogen-Bonded Molecular Cage

A large, hexameric cage based on amide dimerization self-assembles from a designed macrocyclic building block in nonpolar solvents. The unusually large structure ( V ∼2800 Å 3 ) features openings commonly associated with covalently linked cages and forms host-guest complexes with fullerenes (C 60 and C 70 ). The formation of the hexameric structure was found to be strongly concentration dependent

En route to terpene natural products utilizing supramolecular cyclase mimetics

Covering: literature up to 2018Terpenes are a class of natural products characterized by remarkable structural diversity. Much of this diversity arises biosynthetically from a handful of linear precursors through the so-called tail-to-head terpene cyclization reaction. This reaction is one of the most complex observed in nature, and historically attempts to replicate it with non-enzymatic means have met with little success. In recent years, however, the development of manmade binding pockets that allow such reactions to take place has been reported. This Highlight provides an overview of this nascent field, and outlines the challenges that need to be overcome moving forward