Hydrophobically modified water-soluble polymers and polyelectrolytes as micellar promotors in the Rh(i) catalyzed hydrogenation of an amino acid precursor in water

Abstract

Hydrophobically modified water-soluble polymers (HMWSP's) and hydrophobically modified polyelectrolytes (HMPE's,“polysoaps”) of various compositions and different molecular weights have been prepared and used in the micellar promoted enantioselective hydrogenation of methyl (Z)-α-acetamidocinnamate with a chiral Rh(I) catalyst in aqueous medium. The efficiency of the micellar polymers in the catalytic reaction is greatly determined by their solubility (dispersibility) behavior and solubilization capacity for catalyst and substrate. The latters depends on the compactness of the polyamphiphiles as revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and light microscopy images. The highest catalytic performance was obtained with polymer-surfactant complexes prepared by micellar copolymerization with neutral or anionic tensides, regardless of the electrical charge of the hydrophobically modified polymer. In most cases a synergism between rate and enantioselectivity has been observed.