Copper and manganese complexes with C2-multitopic ligands. X-ray crystal structure of [Cu(N,N′-bis[(S)-prolyl]phenylenediamine)H2O]. Catalytic properties

Eight mononuclear complexes with multitopic C2-symmetry ligands, [Cu(L)]ClO4, [Mn(L)Cl(H2O)]PF6, (L=N,N′-bis[(S)-prolyl]phenylenediamine (1), N,N′-bis[(S)-N-benzylprolyl]phenylenediamine (2), N,N′-bis{[(S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl]methyl}phenylenediamine (3), N,N′-bis-{[(S)-N-benzyl-pyrrolidin-2-yl]methyl}phenylenediamine (4)) have been prepared and characterised by analytical (elemental analysis, and mass spectroscopy) and FT IR, NMR and electronic spectroscopies. The data show that the ligands are neutral and coordinate to the metal in a tetradentate manner. The N,N′-bis[(S)-prolyl]phenylenediamine ligand also appears as an anionic species, (LH-2), and the single crystal structure determination of the respective complex, [Cu(1)]H2O, is reported. This new family of Cu-complexes catalyse the cyclopropanation of styrene with ethyl and t-butyl diazoacetate to afford cis/trans 2-phenylcyclopropan-1-carboxylates with good yields and selectivity against dimerisation and low ee (<10%). On the other hand, the manganese and copper complexes also catalyse the oxidation of organic sulfides to sulfoxides with high selectivity, and moderate to low enantioselectivity. If an excess of oxidant were used the reaction yields sulfone as only product with excellent yield.