Enhanced Cooperative Activation Effect in the Hydrolytic Kinetic Resolution of Epoxides on [Co(salen)] Catalysts Confined in Nanocages

Abstract

Being cagey: More than two chiral [Co(salen)] catalyst molecules can be confined in one nanocage of SBA-16 by reducing the pore entrance size by silylation. The [Co(salen)]/SBA-16 catalysts with more than two [Co(salen)] complexes in each cage show a significantly enhanced cooperative activation effect and exhibit much higher activity than the homogeneous [Co(salen)] catalyst in the hydrolytic kinetic resolution of epoxides (see scheme).