Enantioselective Conjugate Reduction of α,β-Unsaturated Carboxamides with Semicorrin Cobalt Catalysts

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0957-4166(00)86123-6

Chiral semicorrin cobalt complexes, prepared in situ from cobalt(II) chloride and the free ligands, are efficient, highly enantioselective catalysts for the conjugate reduction of α,β-unsaturated carboxamides with sodium borohydride.Enantiomeric excesses of up to 99percent, essentially quantitative yields, and high substrate/catalyst ratios (1000-10 000:1) are attractive attributes of this catalytic process.