The first Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenations of vinyl boronates have been performed using low catalyst loadings (0.5 mol%) and pressure (as low as 1 bar). Good selectivities (76-98% ee) were obtained for a range of substrates.

Diphenylvinylphosphine oxides and di- and trisubstituted vinylphosphonates have been employed as substrates in iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenations. Complete conversions and excellent enantioselectivities (up to and above 99% ee) were observed for a range of substrates with both aromatic and aliphatic groups at the prochiral carbon. We have also hydrogenated electron-deficient carboxyethylvinylphosphonates with excellent stereoselectivity (up to and above 99% ee). The hydrogenated products of both classes of substrates are synthetically useful intermediates.

A range of saturated chiral azacycles has been prepared in high yield and with high selectivity from simple starting materials. A modular approach with ring-closing metathesis as a key step was used to produce a number of five-, six-, and seven-membered cyclic alkenes. Asymmetric hydrogenation catalyzed by N,P-ligated iridium complexes gave saturated azacycles in high optical purity. This methodology was demonstrated in the synthesis of a pharmaceutical precursor.

Diarylmethine-containing stereocenters are present in pharmaceuticals and natural products, making the synthetic methods that form these chiral centers are important in industry. We have applied iridium complexes with novel N,P-chelating ligands to the asymmetric hydrogenation of trisubstituted olefins, forming diarylmethine chiral centers in high conversions and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) for a broad range of substrates. Our results support the hypothesis that steric hindrance in one specific area of the catalyst is playing a key role in stereoselection, as the hydrogenation of substrates differing little at the prochiral carbon occurred with high enantioselectivity. As a result, excellent stereodiscrimination was obtained even when the prochiral carbon bore, for example, phenyl and p-tolyl groups.

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A library of readily available phosphite-oxazole/thiazole ligands (L1 a-g-L7 a-g) was applied in the Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of several largely unfunctionalized E- and Z-trisubstituted and 1,1-disubstituted terminal alkenes. The ability of the catalysts to transfer chiral information to the product could be tuned by choosing suitable ligand components (bridge length, the substituents in the heterocyclic ring and the alkyl backbone chain, the configuration of the ligand backbone, and the substituents/configurations in the biaryl phosphite moiety), so that enantioselectivities could be maximized for each substrate as required. Enantioselectivities were therefore excellent (enantiomeric excess (ee) values up to >99 %) for a wide range of E- and Z-trisubstituted and 1,1-disubstituted terminal alkenes. The biaryl phosphite moiety was a very advantageous ligand component in terms of substrate versatility.

A range of 1,2,4-trisubstituted cyclohexadienes obtained from the Birch reaction were hydrogenated asymmetrically to produce synthetically valuable chiral compounds in high enantio- and diastereoselectivity.

A new class of modular P,N-ligand library has been synthesized and screened in the Pd-catalyzed allylic substitution reactions of several substrate types. These series of ligands can be prepared efficiently from easily accessible hydroxyl-oxazole/thiazole derivatives. Their modular nature enables the bridge length, the substituents at the heterocyclic ring and in the alkyl backbone chain, the configuration of the ligand backbone, and the substituents/configurations in the biaryl phosphite moiety to be easily and systematically varied. By carefully selecting the ligand components, therefore, high regio- and enantioselectivities (ee values up to 96 %) and good activities are achieved in a broad range of mono-, di-, and trisubstituted linear hindered and unhindered substrates and cyclic substrates. The NMR spectroscopic and DFT studies on the Pd-pi-allyl intermediates provide a deeper understanding of the effect of ligand parameters on the origin of enantioselectivity.