An Improved Asymmetrically-Modified Nickel Catalyst Prepared from Ultrasonicated Raney Nickel

Article abstract of DOI:10.1246/bcsj.67.2473

The ultrasonic irradiation of Raney nickel catalyst in water followed by the removal of the resulting turbid supernatant gave an excellent nickel catalyst (RNi-U) which generated an asymmetrically-modified nickel catalyst.An EPMA (SEM-EDX) study indicated that RNi-U consisted of a fairly pure nickel surface of homogeneous size.Tartaric acid-NaBr-modified RNi-U (TA-NaBr-MRNi-U) showed a high enantio-differentiating ability as well as reactivity in the hydrogenation of prochiral ketones such as 1,3-diones and 3-oxoalkanoic acid esters.