Dirhodium(II)-Mediated Alkene Epoxidation with Iodine(III) Oxidants

Abstract

Dirhodium(II) complexes and iodine(III) oxidants have found useful applications in synthetic nitrene chemistry. In this study, the combination of the dirhodium(II) complex Rh2(tpa)4 (tpa = triphenylacetate) with the iodine(III) oxidant PhI(OPiv)2 is shown to promote the epoxidation of alkenes in the presence of 2 equivalents of water. The reaction can be applied to diversely substituted alkenes and the corresponding epoxides are isolated with yields of up to 90 %. A possible mechanism involves the dirhodium(II) complex as a Lewis acid species that would tune the oxidizing character of the iodine(III) reagent.