Reuse of chiral ruthenium catalyst in catalytic asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (CATH) has attracted attention from economic and environmental viewpoints, and reactions using ionic liquids (ILs) as solvent are recognized as one of the most useful methods for reuse of the catalyst. We synthesized (1S,2S)-N-(p-toluenesulfonyl)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine (TsDPEN) derivatives with various ionic moieties, and investigated the effect of their structure with respect to catalytic ability and recyclability in CATH with ILs. Ligand 3a having an imidazolium group showed the best results, and significant differences were observed depending on the structure of the ionic moiety or the length of the alkyl chain connecting the ligand site and the ionic moiety. Among various prochiral ketones used as substrates at various cycles, 3a showed a relatively good result.Key words ionic liquid; recyclable catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation; task-specific ligand; imidazolium salt Catalytic asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (CATH) is a very useful method for obtaining optically active secondary alcohols from prochiral ketones and for serving as an alternative to catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation with molecular hydrogen. CATH has many advantages in terms of safety and convenience over conventional hydrogenation because it uses 2-propanol or formic acid as a hydrogen source.1,2) Similar to catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation, CATH can also proceed with high catalytic efficiency and enantioselectivity by using a chiral transition metal complex. Especially well known as a catalyst is the ruthenium complex (1 and 2) with chiral N-(p-toluenesulfonyl)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine (TsDPEN) reported by Noyori and colleagues.3-5) CATH with the ruthenium catalyst has a high degree of applicability for synthetic chemistry in the laboratory as well as in industry. Several attempts to use CATH with recyclable catalysts have been reported with the aim of industrial application. The reuse of expensive transition metals such as ruthenium and the reduction of waste from reactions is advantageous from economic and environmental viewpoints. Indeed, transfer hydrogenation using polymer-or dendritic-supported TsDPEN ligand under heterogeneous conditions has been reported. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Serving as a new type of solvent for green technology are ionic liquids (ILs), which consist of ions such as quaternary ammonium or phosphonium ions and are liquids at room temperature.14-18) Although the toxicity and biodegradability of ILs have not been sufficiently explored, they are known to be non-volatile and non-flammable.14-19) Therefore, the use of ILs offers safety and environmental protection, as well as eliminates the problem of volatilization loss, which occurs with conventional organic solvents. In addition, ILs have the ability to dissolve organic and inorganic compounds, while being immiscible with less polar solvent and water. Organometallic complexes can work as homogeneous catalysts in ILs, and a simple extraction procedure can separate the p...