Iridium Catalysts with Chiral Imidazole‐Phosphine Ligands for Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Vinyl Fluorides and other Olefins

Abstract

Abstract New chiral bidentate imidazole‐phosphine ligands have been prepared and evaluated for the iridium‐catalysed asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins. The imidazole‐phosphine‐ligated iridium catalysts hydrogenated trisubstituted olefins with the same sense of enantiodiscrimination as known iridium catalysts possessing oxazole and thiazole as N‐donors. The imidazole‐based catalysts were shown to hydrogenate vinyl fluorides, in some cases with the highest ee values published to date.