Ferrocenyl Ligands with Two Phosphanyl Substituents in the alpha,varepsilon positions for the Transition Metal Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Functionalized Double Bonds.

The choice of the substituents at the benzylic position of diphosphane 1 allows the selection of the absolute configuration of the product that is obtained from the transition metal catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of various beta-dicarbonyl compounds, alpha-acetamidocinnamic acid derivatives, and dimethyl itaconate (see scheme).