Enantioselective Ir-Catalyzed Hydrogenation of Minimally Functionalized Olefins Using Pyranoside Phosphinite-Oxazoline Ligands

Abstract

Pyranoside phosphinite-oxazoline ligands prepared from readily available (+)-D-glucosamine were applied to the Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of minimally functionalized olefins. Our results show that the enantioselectivity is dependent on the ozaxoline and the phosphinite moieties and the substrate structure. By carefully selecting the ligand components, enantioselectivities up to 99 % were obtained in the asymmetric reduction of several (E)- and (Z)-trisubstituted and 1,1-disubstituted olefins. The asymmetric hydrogenation was also performed using propylene carbonate as solvent, which allowed the iridium catalysts to be reused and maintained the high enantioselectivities.