Acrylic acids, 3-aryl, reduction

A v ety of reactions are catalyzed by electrochemically generated Ni(0) (62). Electrochemical reduction of Ni(bipy)3Br2 affords a reagent that couples acid chlorides and alkyl or aryl halides to form unsymmetrical ketones (63). Symmetrical ketones are formed from alkyl halides and carbon dioxide (64). Reductive electrochemical carboxylation of terminal alkynes, enynes and diynes can be accomplished with 10% Ni(bipy)3(Bp4)2 in DMF (65-68). Terminal allies lead selectively to a-substituted acrylic acids. Electrocatalytic hydrogenation on hydrogen-active electrodes has been reviewed (69). Radical cyclizations of vinyl, alkyl and aryl radicals can be carried out by indirect electrochemical reduction with a Ni(II) complex as a mediator (70). 

Rhodium-BisP and -MiniPHOS catalysts are capable of high enantioselective reductions of dehydroamino acids in 96-99.9% ee.109 A variety of aryl enamides give optically active amides with 96-99% ee with the exception of ort/jo-substituted substrates.111 Despite the high enantio-selectivity, the rate of reaction in this transformation is slow. Rhodium-BisP and -MiniPHOS catalysts perform excellently in the asymmetric reduction of ( >P-(acylamino)acrylates to the corresponding protected-P-amino esters in 95-99% ee.112 Within the family of BisP and MiniPHOS, the ligands that contain t-Bu groups were found to be the most effective in a variety of asymmetric hydrogenations. 

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