Ruthenium and osmium complexes of hemilabile chiral monophosphinite ligands derived from 1D-pinitol or 1D-chiro-inositol as catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation reactions.

The monophosphinite ligands, 1D-1,2;5,6-di-O-cyclopentylidene-3-O-methyl-4-O-diphenylphosphino-chiro-inositol (D-P1), 1D-1,2;5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-3-O-methyl-4-O-diphenylphosphino-chiro-inositol (D-P2), 1D-1,2;5,6-di-O-cyclohexylidene-3-O-methyl-4-O-diphenylphosphino-chiro-inositol (D-P3), and 1D-1,2;5,6-di-O-cyclopentylidene-3-O-ethyl-4-O-diphenylphosphino-chiro-inositol (D-P4), can be conveniently prepared from the chiral natural products 1D-pinitol or 1D-chiro-inositol. On treatment of toluene solutions of RuCl2(PPh3)3 with two mole equivalents of the ligands D-PY (Y = 1-4) the complexes RuCl2(D-P1)2 (1), RuCl2(D-P2)2 (4), RuCl2(D-P3)2 (5), or RuCl2(D-P4)2 (6), respectively, are formed. Similarly, treatment of OsCl2(PPh3)3 with D-P1 gives OsCl2(D-P1)2 (7). The single crystal X-ray structure determination of 1 reveals that each D-P1 ligand coordinates to ruthenium through phosphorus and the oxygen atom of the methoxyl group. Treatment of 1 with excess LiBr or LiI results in metathesis of the chloride ligands and RuBr2(D-P1)2 (2) or RuI2(D-P1)2 (3), respectively, are formed. Exposure of a solution of 1 to carbon monoxide results in the very rapid formation of RuCl2(CO)2(D-P1)2 (8), thereby demonstrating the ease with which the oxygen donors are displaced from the metal and hence the hemilabile nature of the two bidentate D-P1 ligands in 1. Preliminary studies indicate that 1-7 act as catalysts for the asymmetric hydrogenation reactions of acetophenone and 3-quinuclidinone to give the corresponding alcohols in generally high conversions but low enantiomeric excesses.