Toward efficient asymmetric hydrogenation: Architectural and functional engineering of chiral molecular catalysts

doi:10.1073/pnas.0307928100

Toward efficient asymmetric hydrogenation: Architectural and functional engineering of chiral molecular catalysts

Department of Chemistry and Research Center for Materials Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan

Edited by Jack Halpern, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, and approved December 30, 2003 (received for review November 29, 2003)

Abstract

Asymmetric hydrogenation uses inexpensive, clean hydrogen gas and a very small amount of a chiral molecular catalyst, providing the most powerful way to produce a wide array of enantio-enriched compounds in a large quantity without forming any waste. The recent revolutionary advances in this field have entirely changed the synthetic approach to producing performance chemicals that require a high degree of structural precision. The means of developing efficient asymmetric hydrogenations is discussed from a mechanistic point of view.

Footnotes

↵ † To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: noyori{at}chem3.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp.
↵ * Present address: RIKEN (The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research), Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
Abbreviations: BINAP, 2,2′-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1′-binaphthyl; ee, enantiomeric excess; S/C, substrate/catalyst molar ratio; DPEN, 1,2-diphenylethylenediamine.