Efficient Access to Chiral Benzhydrols via Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of Unsymmetrical Benzophenones with Bifunctional Oxo-Tethered Ruthenium Catalysts

J Am Chem Soc. 2016 Aug 17;138(32):10084-7. doi: 10.1021/jacs.6b05738. Epub 2016 Aug 5.

Abstract

A concise asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of diaryl ketones, promoted by bifunctional Ru complexes with an etherial linkage between 1,2-diphenylethylenediamine (DPEN) and η(6)-arene ligands, was successfully developed. Because of the effective discrimination of substituents at the ortho position on the aryl group, unsymmetrical benzophenones were smoothly reduced in a 5:2 mixture of formic acid and triethylamine with an unprecedented level of excellent enantioselectivity. For the non-ortho-substituted benzophenones, the oxo-tethered catalyst electronically discerned biased substrates, resulting in attractive performance yielding chiral diarylmethanols with >99% ee.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't