A tentative kinetic model for chiral amplification in autocatalytic alkylzinc additions

✍ Scribed by Thomas Buhse

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 201 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0957-4166
• DOI: 10.1016/s0957-4166(03)00128-9

✦ Synopsis

A simplified kinetic model is proposed to describe stereoselective autocatalysis in specific alkylzinc additions. The model is based on current experimental knowledge and by the use of exclusively mono-or bimolecular processes attempting a chemically and kinetically realistic description. The underlying dynamics were expressed in terms of a template-directed self-replication in which a zinc alkoxide dimer acts as the active autocatalytic species. The model was shown to reproduce previously obtained kinetic data well, to address to the phenomenon of chiral amplification in a semi-quantitative manner, and to enlighten the cause of the effect of the initial enantiomeric excess on the globally observed kinetics. Amplification of enantiomeric excess occurs by considering a homogeneous and entirely symmetric reaction network.