Synthesis of chiral polymers containing thioetherified cinchonidinium repeating units and their application to asymmetric catalysis

A thiol-ene reaction of dithiol and two equivalents of cinchonidine afforded a thioetherified cinchonidine dimer. The dimer was treated with benzyl bromide to give a quaternary ammonium dimer. An ion exchange reaction of the cinchonidinium dimer and disodium disulfonate gave polymers containing chiral quaternary ammonium repeating units in their main-chain structures. Another type of chiral polymer was synthesized by quaternization polymerization. Repeated quaternization reactions between the thioetherified cinchonidine dimer and dihalides yielded chiral polymers containing cinchonidinium structures in their main chains. Both of these chiral polymers were successfully used as catalysts for the asymmetric alkylation of N-diphenylmethylene glycine tert-butyl ester. The chiral cinchonidinium polymers explored in this study showed excellent catalytic activity in asymmetric alkylation reactions and were reused several times without loss of activity. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.