1 LIGAND DESIGN FOR CATALYTIC ASYMMETRIC REDUCTION

Molecular catalysts consisting of a metal or metal ion and a chiral organic ligand are widely used for asymmetric synthesis. Figure 1.1 illustrates a typical (but not general) scheme of asymmetric catalytic reaction.1 The initially used chiral preca-talyst 1A is converted to the real catalyst 1B through an induction process. A