Heterogeneous Enantioselective Catalysis with Chiral Encoded Mesoporous Pt-Ir Films Supported on Ni Foam.

The development of heterogeneous catalysts for asymmetric synthesis is one of the most challenging topics in chemistry, as it allows obtaining enantiomerically pure compounds. Recently, metal layers incorporating molecular chiral cavities, obtained by electroreduction of a metal source in the simultaneous presence of a non-ionic surfactant and asymmetric molecules, have been proposed for a wide range of applications, including enantioselective electroanalysis and electrosynthesis, as well as chiral separation. In contrast to this previous work, solely based on electrochemical phenomena, herein we designed and employed nanostructured chiral encoded Pt-Ir alloys, supported on high surface area nickel foams, as heterogeneous catalysts for the asymmetric hydrogenation of aromatic ketones. Fine-tuning the experimental conditions allows achieving very high enantioselectivity (>80%), combined with improved catalyst stability.