Kinetic Resolution of Secondary Alcohols Catalyzed at the Exterior of Chiral Coordinated Capsules.

Confined spaces inside molecular hosts can function as reaction vessels. However, this concept significantly limits the scope of reactants. When the exterior of molecular hosts is used instead, we can ease the restriction because reactants are not necessary to be trapped inside molecular hosts, although studies along this line have not been reported. As a proof-of-concept of enantioselective reactions at the exterior of chiral molecular hosts, we utilized host-guest complexes of enantiomerically enriched Cu-coordinated capsules and guests possessing a catalytic center to realize the kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols. Under suitable reaction conditions, a selectivity factor of 2.6 was realized, demonstrating that the reactions occur at the exterior of the capsules. A series of experiments indicated that the substituents on the 2,2'-bipyridyl arms and the alkyl chains on the lower rim contributed to the enantioselectivity of the reactions.