"Iron(II) salt + 4,4',4''-trichloro-2,2':6',2''-terpyridine" is an effective catalyst for epoxidation and aziridination of alkenes and intramolecular amidation of sulfamate esters. The epoxidation of allylic-substituted cycloalkenes achieved excellent diastereoselectivities up to 90%. ESI-MS results supported the formation of iron-oxo and -imido intermediates. Derivitization of Cl 3terpy to O-PEG-OCH 3-Cl 2terpy renders the terpyridine unit to be recyclable, and the "iron(II) salt + 4,4''-dichloro-4'- O-PEG-OCH 3-2,2':6',2''-terpyridine" protocol can be reused without a significant loss of catalytic activity in the alkene epoxidation.

Aryl- and aliphatic-substituted 3-hydroxyprolines and various other amino esters are conveniently prepared by [RuCl2(p-cymene)]2-catalyzed one-pot intramolecular and intermolecular carbenoid N-H insertion reactions, respectively, and the prolines are formed with high diastereoselectivities. The catalytic reactions are tolerant toward air/moisture, and the product yields are insensitive to the organic solvents used.