A Tripodal Peptidic Titanium Phosphonate as a Homochiral Porous Solid Medium for the Heterogeneous Enantioselective Hydration of Epoxides

A porous, homochiral titanium‐phosphonate material based on a tripodal peptide scaffold was used as a heterogeneous reaction medium for the enantioselective hydration (>99%) of styrene oxide. This titanium‐phosphonate material, which was shown to contain confined chiral spaces, was prepared by polymerization of L ‐leucine onto a tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine initiator, followed by capping with phosphonate groups and completed by non‐aqueous condensation with titanium isopropoxide. Circular dichroism confirmed that the peptide tethers yielded a secondary structure. X‐ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy supported by a semi‐empirical model showed the likely formation of a porous, lamellar material that was quantified by nitrogen adsorption.