Katie Heslop

Biarylphosphonites: a class of monodentate phosphorus(III) ligands that outperform their chelating analogues in asymmetric hydrogenation catalysis

Rhodium(I) complexes of monodentate phosphonites derived from 2,2′-binaphthol and 9,9′-biphenanthrol are compared with diphosphonite chelate analogues as catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation; the high ee’s (up to 92%) obtained with the monodentate systems and the observation that they are sometimes superior to the chelate analogues are discussed.

Rationally designed improvement of the bis(phospholano)ethane ligand for asymmetric hydrogenation leads to a reappraisal of the factors governing the enantioselectivity of duphos catalysts

Enhancement of enantioselectivity in hydrogenations catalysed by δ vs. λ rhodium chelate complexes of trans-1,2-bis(phospholano)cyclopentanes cannot be rationalised using the current quadrant model for Duphos ligands and therefore a new consistent model is suggested.