Issue 35, 2022

Decoded fingerprints of hyperresponsive, expanding product space: polyether cascade cyclizations as tools to elucidate supramolecular catalysis

Abstract

Simple enough to be understood and complex enough to be revealing, cascade cyclizations of diepoxides are introduced as new tools to characterize supramolecular catalysis. Decoded product fingerprints are provided for a consistent set of substrate stereoisomers, and shown to report on chemo-, diastereo- and enantioselectivity, mechanism and even autocatalysis. Application of the new tool to representative supramolecular systems reveals, for instance, that pnictogen-bonding catalysis is not only best in breaking the Baldwin rules but also converts substrate diastereomers into completely different products. Within supramolecular capsules, new cyclic hemiacetals from House–Meinwald rearrangements are identified, and autocatalysis on anion–π catalysts is found to be independent of substrate stereochemistry. Decoded product fingerprints further support that the involved epoxide-opening polyether cascade cyclizations are directional, racemization-free, and interconnected, at least partially. The discovery of unique characteristics for all catalysts tested would not have been possible without decoded cascade cyclization fingerprints, thus validating the existence and significance of privileged platforms to elucidate supramolecular catalysis. Once decoded, cascade cyclization fingerprints are easily and broadly applicable, ready for use in the community.

Graphical abstract: Decoded fingerprints of hyperresponsive, expanding product space: polyether cascade cyclizations as tools to elucidate supramolecular catalysis

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
15 Jul 2022
Accepted
18 Aug 2022
First published
31 Aug 2022
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2022,13, 10273-10280

Decoded fingerprints of hyperresponsive, expanding product space: polyether cascade cyclizations as tools to elucidate supramolecular catalysis

H. Chen, T. Li, N. Sakai, C. Besnard, L. Guénée, M. Pupier, J. Viger-Gravel, K. Tiefenbacher and S. Matile, Chem. Sci., 2022, 13, 10273 DOI: 10.1039/D2SC03991E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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