Metal-ligand cooperation in the catalytic oxidation of (R)-carvone by Ga(NO3)3/H2O2

Abstract

In this work, the catalytic epoxidation of (R)-carvone by the Ga(NO3)3/H2O2 system was studied alongside the metal-ligand cooperation by exploring 17 different ligands. It was observed that the acidic ligands such as acetic acid mostly favor the epoxidation of the endocyclic double bond of (R)-carvone (22% yield, 1 h), while nitrogen heterocycles direct the epoxidation to the exocyclic double bond, especially the ones that are unsubstituted or have electron-donating groups, such as pyrazine (28% yield, 5 h), 4-dimethylaminopyridine (28% yield, 8 h), and 1-methyimidazole (43% yield, 8 h). Pyrazinecaboxylic acid favored the epoxidation of the exocyclic double bond (25%, 3 h). EPR analysis of both Ga(NO3)3/H2O2 and Ga(NO3)3/PCA/H2O2 systems indicates the presence of hydroxyl radicals in the reaction medium, although these do not determine the epoxidation rate that is likely regulated by the interaction of Ga-peroxo complexes with (R)-carvone. This study contributes to widening the application of the cooperating ligand concept in molecular catalysis toward further development of more selective and efficient epoxidation reactions catalyzed by non-transition metal centers.