Asymmetric hydrogenation overview

Because a comprehensive review on the catalytic performance of Josiphos ligands has been published,20 we restrict ourselves to a short overview on the most important fields of applications. Up to now, only the (7 )-(S)-family (and its enantiomers) but not the (R)-(R) diastereoisomers have led to high enantioselectivities (the first descriptor stands for the stereogenic center, and the second stands for the planar chirality). The most important application is undoubtedly the hydrogenation of C = N functions, where the effects of varying R and R1 have been extensively studied (for the most pertinent results see Table 15.5, Entries I—4). Outstanding performances are also observed for tetrasubstituted C = C bonds (Entry 5) and itaconic and dehydroamino acid derivatives (Entries 6 and 7). A rare example of an asymmetric hydrogenation of a heteroaromatic compound 36 with a respectable ee is depicted in Scheme 15.6.10b... 

Table 2.14 gives an overview of industrial processes using asymmetric catalysis, including examples both of asymmetric hydrogenation and other types of reactions, as well as of the use of biocatalysts for the reaction. Selected chiral ligands used in asymmetric catalytic reactions are also shown in the table. 

We have four goals for this chapter 1) present an overview of the steps commonly employed to study organometallic catalysis, 2) show how the principles underlying molecular mechanics methods are applied to three specific examples (stereoselectivity in asymmetric hydrogenation, olefin polymerization, and host/guest interactions in zeolites), 3) briefly illustrate the practical applications of molecular modeling to catalysts used in industry, and 4) present a limited survey of the literature to illustrate how different workers have applied molecular mechanics to the study of properties of catalysts of importance to organometallic chemists. 

In this contribution we first give a short description of the historical development of enantioselective C=N hydrogenations. Then, an overview on effective enantioselective catalysts for different types of C=N groups is presented, that is directed to the synthetic chemist involved in synthesis planning. The detailed discussion of the chemistry of selected asymmetric catalysts is meant for the catalyst specialist. Finally, the most useful methods are briefly assessed from a preparative as well as a technical point of view. 

A very good overview on the state of the art of homogeneous hydrogenation up to 2006 can be found in the monograph Handbook of Homogeneous Hydrogenation [4, 5] for a discussion of industrial requirements see Blaser et al. [5]. Chiral phosphorus ligands (the most important source of chirality) have been comprehensively covered in Trivalent Phosphorus Compounds in Asymmetric... 

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