Minimizing Aryloxy Elimination in Rh(I) -Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of β-Aryloxyacrylic Acids using a Mixed-Ligand Strategy.

The first example of efficient asymmetric hydrogenation of challenging β-aryloxyacrylic acids was realized using a Rh(I) -complex based on the heterocombination of a readily available chiral monodentate secondary phosphine oxide (SPO) and an achiral monodentate phosphine ligand as the catalyst. Excellent enantioselectivities (92->99 % ee) were achieved for a wide variety of chiral β-aryloxypropionic acids with minor aryloxy elimination in most cases. The resultant products were readily transformed into biologically active compounds through simple synthetic manipulations.