Chiral monodentate phosphine ligand MOP for transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric reactions.

Chiral monophosphines, whose chirality is due to biaryl axial chirality, have been prepared from enantiomerically pure 2, 2'-dihydroxy-1,1'-binaphthyl and demonstrated to be highly efficient chiral ligands for transition-metal-catalyzed organic transformations, especially for reactions where chelating bisphosphine ligands cannot be used. The high efficiency is observed in palladium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrosilylation of a wide variety of olefins such as alkyl-substituted terminal olefins and in asymmetric reactions via pi-allylpalladium intermediates represented by asymmetric reduction of allylic esters with formic acid.