Ruthenium Porphyrin Catalyzed Synthesis of Oxazolidin‐2‐ones by Cycloaddition of CO2 to Aziridines

Abstract

The reaction between N‐substituted‐2‐arylaziridines and CO2 is efficiently promoted by ruthenium(VI) imidoporphyrin complexes and yields a mixture of 5‐aryl (A) and 4‐aryl (B) substituted oxazolidin‐2‐ones with a regioisomeric A/B ratio up to 99:1. Several oxazolidin‐2‐one molecules were synthesized at 100 °C and 0.6 MPa of carbon dioxide by using the low catalytic loading of 1 mol‐%. The formation of a deactivated compound, deriving from the ruthenium catalyst, suggested a possible catalytic role of imido nitrogen atoms.