The use of a chiral (NCP)Ir complex as the precatalyst allowed for the discovery of asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of diaryl ketones with ethanol as the hydrogen source and solvent. This reaction was applicable to various ortho-substituted diaryl keontes, affording benzhydrols in good yields and enantioselectivities. This protocol could be carried out in a gram scale under mild reaction conditions. The utility of the catalytic system was highlighted by the synthesis of the key precursor of (S)-neobenodine.

Chiral iridium complexes ligated by anionic oxazoline-bearing NCP-type pincer ligands were developed and applied to the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of diarylethenes using environmentally benign ethanol as the hydrogen donor. High enantioselectivities could be achieved for substrates bearing ortho-Me, ortho-Cl, or ortho-Br substituents on one of the aryl groups. The ATH of ortho-Br-substituted diarylethenes is particularly attractive due to the propensity of the C(aryl)–Br bond to undergo various new bond-forming events.

Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of 1-aryl-1-alkylethenes with ethanol was developed with a chiral (PCN)Ir complex as the precatalyst, featuring high enantioselectivities, good functional group tolerance, and operational simplicity. The method is further applied to formal intramolecular asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of alkenols without an external H-donor, producing a tertiary stereocenter and remote ketone group simultaneously. The utility of the catalytic system was highlighted by gram scale synthesis and the synthesis of the key precursor of (R)-xanthorrhizol.