Chiral Bis-8-Aryl-isoquinoline Bis-alkylamine Iron Catalysts for Asymmetric Oxidation Reactions.

A novel class of bis-8-aryl-isoquinoline () bis-alkylamine iron complexes, Fe()(OTf) and Fe()(OTf) ( = dipyrrolidinyl or = ,'-dimethylcyclohexyl-diamine), for asymmetric oxidation reactions is reported. The scalable divergent synthesis of 8-aryl-3-formylisoquinolines (), the key intermediates in preparing these ligands, enables precise structural and electronic tuning around the metal center. The enantioselective epoxidation and hydroxy carbonylation of conjugated alkenes, mediated by the Fe() catalyst with HO as the oxidant, demonstrates the potential of these redox Fe[N] catalysts in inducing face selection in oxygen transfer transformations.