Highly enantioselective Rh-catalysed hydrogenation of 1-alkyl vinyl esters using phosphine-phosphoramidite ligands.

MatPhos, a good mate for hard tasks: The asymmetric hydrogenation of 1-alkyl vinyl esters, thwarted so far by mediocre ee values and low activities, can now be achieved with MatPhos/Rh catalysts with ee values of 96-99% for a variety of substrates at low catalyst loadings (0.1-1 mol %) and under mild conditions (5-20 bar H2, room temperature). After hydrolysis, the corresponding chiral secondary alkyl alcohols can be obtained in high enantiopurities providing a general and practical route to this important product class.