Broad Scope Synthesis of Ester Precursors of Nonfunctionalized Chiral Alcohols Based on the Asymmetric Hydrogenation of α,β-Dialkyl-, α,β-Diaryl-, and α-Alkyl-β-aryl-vinyl Esters.

The catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation of trisubstituted enol esters using Rh catalysts bearing chiral phosphine-phosphite ligands (P-OP) has been studied. Substrates covered comprise α,β-dialkyl, α-alkyl-β-aryl, and α,β-diarylvinyl esters, the corresponding hydrogenation products being suitable precursors to prepare synthetically relevant chiral nonfunctionalized alcohols. A comparison of reactivity indicates that it decreases in the order: α,β-dialkyl > α-alkyl-β-aryl > α,β-diaryl.

Rhodium phosphine-phosphite catalysts in the hydrogenation of challenging N-(3,4-dihydronaphthalen-2-yl) amide derivatives.

The enantioselective catalytic hydrogenation of N-(3,4-dihydronaphthalen-2-yl) amides (1) with rhodium catalysts bearing phosphine-phosphite ligands 4 has been studied. A wide catalyst screening, facilitated by the modular structure of 4, has found a highly enantioselective catalyst for this reaction. This catalyst gives a 93% ee in the hydrogenation of 1a and also produces high enantioselectivities, ranging from 83 to 93% ee, in the hydrogenation of several OMe- and Br-substituted substrates.