Iron‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Olefin <i>cis</i>‐Dihydroxylation with 97 % Enantiomeric Excess

Big cis-ster: The use of an (R,R)-bipyrrolidine backbone with two α-methylpyridine pendant arms affords a tetradentate N4 ligand that coordinates an iron center with cis-α topology (see picture; Fe purple, C gray, N blue, O red, S yellow, F green). This complex catalyzes the reaction between H2O2 and cis-2-heptene to afford a cis-diol product in very high enantioselectivity.