Enantioselective decarboxylation of beta-keto esters with Pd/amino alcohol systems: successive metal catalysis and organocatalysis.

The kinetics and mechanisms of one-pot cascade reactions of racemic beta-keto esters to give chiral ketones in the presence of Pd/C-chiral amino alcohol catalyst systems were studied. Transformation of 2-methyl-1-tetralone-2-carboxylic acid benzyl ester (1) into 2-methyl-1-tetralone (4) in the presence of Pd/C and cinchona alkaloids or ephedrine was chosen as a model reaction. After the first reaction step, the Pd-catalysed debenzylation of 1 to afford the corresponding beta-keto acid (2), there are two possible reaction routes that may be catalysed by the chiral amino alcohol in solution or by Pd(0) sites on the metal surface in cooperation with the adsorbed amino alcohol.