Polymeric chiral organocatalysts

Incorporation of a chiral quaternary ammonium salt into a polymer allows for the preparation of a polymeric chiral organocatalyst that can be utilized in various asymmetric transformations in organic synthesis. Chiral quaternary ammonium salts are among the most important and frequently used organocatalysts. There is an increased focus on new strategies for the incorporation of chiral quaternary ammonium salts into polymers. We have found that ionic-bond formation between a quaternary nitrogen and a sulfonate anion can be successfully used to link an organocatalyst to a polymer support. Stable ionic bonds formed by quaternary ammonium sulfonate can also be used in main-chain chiral polymer synthesis. The potential applications of the ionic-bond formation method in the construction of new chiral macromolecular architectures are discussed herein.