Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Functionalized Olefins Using N,P-Ligated Iridium Complexes

Transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation is one of the most efficient, straightforward, and well-established methods for preparing enantiomerically enriched compounds. Over the past decades, significant progress has been made with iridium, rhodium and ruthenium complexes to asymmetric hydrogenate a selection of olefins, such as, α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid derivatives, ketones, imines and phosphonates. Although these metals have been applied successfully in the hydrogenation of olefins, they differ in their substrate tolerance. Ruthenium and rhodium based catalysts require a coordinating group in the vicinity of the C=C bond. However, iridium based catalysts do not require this coordinating group, hence, asymmetric hydrogenation with iridium catalysts has been widely used for both functionalized and unfunctionalized olefin substrates. This thesis focuses on expanding the substrate scope for asymmetric hydrogenation using chiral N,P-ligated iridium catalysts. Papers I and II investigate the asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral N-heterocyclic compounds prepared by ring-closing metathesis using the iridium catalysts developed in our group. These substrates are interesting as they bear resemblance to pharmaceutically active compounds and therefore have tremendous value in medicinal chemistry. Excellent enantioselectivities, up to >99% ee and conversions were obtained. In papers III and IV we synthesized many unsaturated acyclic and cyclic sulfones with varying substitution patterns. The sulfones were subjected to hydrogenation using our N,P-ligated iridium catalysts, producing the chiral sulfone products in high enantiomeric excess (up to 99% ee). This methodology was combined with the Ramberg-Bäcklund reaction, offering a novel route to chiral allylic and homoallylic compounds. In addition to obtaining these chiral compounds in good yields, no decrease in enantiomeric excess was observed after the Ramberg-Bäcklund reaction. This strategy has been applied in the preparation of the chiral building block for renin inhibitors