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

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.