The Synthesis of Chiral α‐Aryl α‐Hydroxy Carboxylic Acids via RuPHOX‐Ru Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation

Abstract A ruthenocenyl phosphino‐oxazoline‐ruthenium complex (RuPHOX−Ru) catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of α‐aryl keto acids has been successfully developed, affording the corresponding chiral α‐aryl α‐hydroxy carboxylic acids in high yields and with up to 97% ee. The reaction could be performed on a gram scale with a relatively low catalyst loading (up to 5000 S/C) and the resulting products can be transformed to several chiral building blocks, biologically active compounds and chiral drugs. magnified image