Recoverable organorhodium-functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane: a bifunctional heterogeneous catalyst for asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of aromatic ketones in aqueous medium.

A bifuctional heterogeneous chiral rhodium catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity and enantioselectivity in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of aromatic ketones and their analogues in aqueous medium, which could be recovered easily and used repetitively without affecting obviously its enantioselectivity.