Electronic Effects on the Stereoselectivity of Epoxidation Reactions Catalyzed by Manganese Porphyrins.

A series of Mn-III porphyrins progressively halogenated in the beta-pyrrolic positions was employed to catalyse the epoxidation of cis-stilbene by iodosylbenzene, and to study the role of the electronic effects on the stereoselectivity of this process. A gradual improvement in the stereoselectivity on increasing the number of beta-halogen atoms was observed. The role of steric effects upon the epoxidation was also investigated by placing ortho-substituents in the meso-phenyl rings, and it was found that steric effects are more important than electronic effects toward the stereoselectivity of this process. These results can be rationalised by proposing a competition between a nonstereoselective electrophilic pathway of addition and a stereospecific pathway of oxygen insertion, the former being disfavoured by electron-withdrawing substituents. Alternatively, the formation of an open intermediate between the Mn-V oxene and the substrate could be suggested, where the stereoselectivity ought to be determined by the competition between closure of the epoxide ring and rotation around the C-C bond. In this case, the enhanced stereoselectivity given by our polyhalogenated porphyrins might be attributed to an acceleration of the epoxide ring closure caused by the electron-withdrawing effect of the halogen substituents.