Asymmetric Hydrogenation of β‐Secondary Amino Ketones Catalyzed by a Ruthenocenyl Phosphino‐oxazoline‐ruthenium Complex (RuPHOX‐Ru): the Synthesis of γ‐Secondary Amino Alcohols

Abstract

Abstract A ruthenocenyl phosphino‐oxazoline‐ruthenium complex (RuPHOX‐Ru) was applied successfully to the asymmetric hydrogenation of β‐secondary amino ketones, directly affording the corresponding chiral γ‐secondary amino alcohols in up to 99% yield and with 99% ee . Reaction with β‐(benzylamino)‐1‐phenylpropan‐1‐one could be performed on a gram‐scale with a relatively low catalyst loading (up to 2000 S/C). The resulting hydrogenated product could be used for the synthesis of synthetically useful compounds. magnified image