Asymmetric (Transfer) Hydrogenation of Aryl and Heteroaryl Ketones

Ruthenium complexes of new chiral phosphine‐amine‐ether ligands (Ru‐PNO) for asymmetric hydrogenation – the role of backbone chirality in pincer ligand design

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Additionally, the direct hydrogenation of prochiral substrates requires cheap and abundant molecular hydrogen as the only reactant. 6 Besides, the high atom efficiency of the process reduces the amount of waste produced and also simplifies the workup of the reaction mixture and the purification of the product. The first breakthrough in the asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral ketones was the development of [RuCl 2 (diphosphine)(diamine)] type catalysts by Noyori and coworkers.…”

“…Today, transition metal‐catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral ketones represents one of the most convenient and versatile strategies for the preparation of enantiomerically enriched secondary alcohols that serve as valuable chiral building blocks in the synthesis of biologically active compounds such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, or perfume ingredients 1–5 . Additionally, the direct hydrogenation of prochiral substrates requires cheap and abundant molecular hydrogen as the only reactant 6 . Besides, the high atom efficiency of the process reduces the amount of waste produced and also simplifies the workup of the reaction mixture and the purification of the product.…”