General and Phosphine‐Free Cobalt‐Catalyzed Hydrogenation of Esters to Alcohols

Summary of main observation and conclusion Catalytic hydrogenation of esters is essential for the sustainable production of alcohols in organic synthesis and chemical industry. Herein, we describe the first non‐noble metal catalytic system that enables an efficient hydrogenation of non‐activated esters to alcohols in the absence of phosphine ligands (with a maximum turnover number of 2391). The general applicability of this protocol was demonstrated by the high‐yielding hydrogenation of 39 ester substrates including aromatic/aliphatic esters, lactones, polyesters and various pharmaceutical molecules.