One-pot production of chiral α,β-epoxy ketones from benzaldehydes and acetophenones by recyclable poly(amino acid) catalysis

An efficient one-pot, two-step process was disclosed for production of chiral α,β-epoxy ketones from benzaldehydes and acetophenones catalyzed by imidazolium-modified poly(l-leucine). Two effective reaction systems with complementary high enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee) or satisfactory yields (up to 89%) have been developed. Importantly, the poly(amino acid) catalyst can be easily recovered and recycled for ten times without losing its catalytic efficiency in terms of both enantioselectivity and yield.