The enantioselective hydrogenation of 2-benzylquinolines and 2-functionalized and 2,3-disubstituted quinolines was developed by using the [Ir(COD)Cl](2)/bisphosphine/I(2) system with up to 96% ee. Moreover, mechanistic studies revealed the hydrogenation mechanism of quinoline involves a 1,4-hydride addition, isomerization, and 1,2-hydride addition, and the catalytic active species may be a Ir(I...

Catalytic hydrogenation of 3,5-bis-arylidenetetramic acids, known for their biological activity, has been developed. The chemoselective ruthenium-catalyzed reduction of the exocyclic carbon-carbon double bonds on pyrrolidine-2,4-dione ring system, containing other reducible functions, has been investigated. Depending on the substrate the yield of the hydrogenation process can reach up to 95%. T...

Catalytic hydrogenation under mild conditions of olefins, unsaturated aldeydes and ketones, nitriles and nitroarenes was investigated, using a supported rhodium complex obtained by copolymerization of Rh(cod)(aaema) [cod: 1,5-cyclooctadiene, aaema-: deprotonated form of 2-(acetoacetoxy)ethyl methacrylate] with acrylamides. In particular, the hydrogenation reaction of halonitroarenes was carried...

Biomass has the potential to serve as a sustainable source of energy and organic carbon for our industrialized society. The focus of this Review is to present an overview of chemical catalytic transformations of biomass-derived oxygenated feedstocks (primarily sugars and sugar-alcohols) in the liquid phase to value-added chemicals and fuels, with specific examples emphasizing the development of...

Quatermetallic alloy nanoparticles of Ni/Ru/Pt/Au were prepared and found to promote the catalytic transfer hydrogenation of non-activated alkenes bearing conjugating units (e.g., 4-phenyl-1-butene) with 2-propanol, where the composition metals, Ni, Ru, Pt, and Au, act cooperatively to provide significant catalytic ability.

Catalytic hydrogenation of carboxylic acid esters is essential for the green production of pharmaceuticals, fragrances, and fine chemicals. Herein, we report the efficient hydrogenation of esters with manganese catalysts based on simple bidentate aminophosphine ligands. Monoligated Mn PN complexes are particularly active for the conversion of esters into the corresponding alcohols at Mn concent...

Within the realm of catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation, the focus continues to be on the use of chiral metal complexes in conjunction with a hydrogen source. Recently, the widespread development of organocatalysis, including the invention of iminium activation, has led to the discovery of many new enantioselective transformations. Based on this strategy, a number of bioinspired processes for th...

The catalytic activity of iridium-mediated transfer hydrogenation is readily tuned by electronic variation of the ligated tetraaryl-N-heterocyclic carbene and the installation of electron donating groups on the N-aryl substituents is more important than on the C-aryl substituents for effecting catalytic enhancement.