65. Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Asymmetric Reactions. Part 5. Diastereoselective and Enantioselective Hydrogenation of Cyclic β-Keto Esters on Modified Raney-Nickel Catalysts

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/hlca.19900730312

The hydrogenations of methyl 2-oxocyclopentanecarboxylate (1), ethyl 2-oxocyclohexanecarboxylate (3), and 2-methylcyclohexanone (5) on unmodified Raney-Ni catalyst lead predominantly to the formation of the cis-hydroxy diastereoisomers of 2, 4, and 6, respectively (Scheme 2).In the asymmetric hydrogenations on catalysts modified with chiral tartaric acid (R,R)-C4H6O6/Raney-Ni and (R,R)-C4H6O6/NaBr/Raney-Ni), the predominance of the cis-isomer increases significantly.The hydrogenations of β-keto esters 1 and 3 proceed with an enantioselectivity of 10-15percent on the modified catalysts, while the similar hydrogenation of 5 yields optically inactive 6.The (1S,2R)-enantiomers of the cis-isomers of 2 and 4 are formed in larger quantity, whereas the (1R,2R)-enantiomers of the corresponding trans-isomers predominate (Scheme 1).The enantioselective formation of trans-2 and trans-4 can be interpreted mainly in terms of the asymmetric hydrogenation of cyclic β-keto esters through the keto form, while that of the corresponding cis-hydroxy esters proceeds through the enol form.