Asymmetric hydrogenation reactions with Rh and Ru complexes bearing phosphine–phosphites with an oxymethylene backbone

A combined experimental and computational study to decipher complexity in the asymmetric hydrogenation of imines with Ru catalysts bearing atropisomerizable ligands

RuCl₂(P–OP)(N–N) complexes containing an atropisomerizable phosphine–phosphite and a chiral diamine are effective catalyst precursors for the asymmetric hydrogenation of N-aryl imines following an outer-sphere mechanism.

Features and Application in Asymmetric Catalysis of Chiral Phosphine-Phosphite Ligands

Chiral phosphine-phosphites are a class of ligands for asymmetric catalysis characterized by two coordinating functionalities with different electronic properties. These ligands also possess a highly modular structure and, due to versatile synthetic processes, they can be tuned precisely in the catalyst optimization process. Research regarding the application of these ligands in several enantioselective catalytic processes has provided outstanding results in a good number of them. These processes include not only Rh catalyzed reactions, such as olefin hydrogenation and hydroformylation, but also other reactions, such as hydrogenation of olefins and imines by Ru complexes, of imines and N-heterocycles by Ir derivatives, allyl alkylation or conjugate addition by Cu catalysts, or hydrocyanation of olefins by Ni ones. Overall, the use of these ligands has led to the preparation of a wide variety of chiral building blocks with high enantiomeric excess. Therefore, phosphine-phosphites have become in an important class of ligands in asymmetric catalysis.