Towards Enantioselective Synthesis with Autonomous Chiral Encoded Metal‐Swimmers

AbstractChiral encoded metals represent a promising class of catalysts for highly enantioselective synthesis of chiral compounds. An interesting approach for achieving high selectivity is based on the use of such materials for electrochemical conversion. However, this approach faces also some limitations, such as the restricted active surface area of the working electrode and the need for a power supply. In this context, we propose the design of chiral‐encoded metal‐swimmers for enantioselective redox synthesis, utilizing their internal thermodynamic driving force to operate without external electricity. A portion of the electrons liberated through the spontaneous oxidation of an integrated reactive metal is used to trigger the enantioselective reduction of a prochiral precursor, enabling the production of desired chiral compounds, while the remaining electrons promote hydrogen bubble formation, allowing an autonomous motion of the swimmers. This approach opens up an alternative pathway for scalable enantioselective synthesis of chiral compounds from prochiral precursors while simultaneously generating autonomous motion of the catalyst.