Extending the substrate scope in the hydrogenation of unfunctionalized tetrasubstituted olefins with Ir-P stereogenic aminophosphine-oxazoline catalysts

Air stable and readily available Ir-catalyst precursors modified with MaxPHOX-type ligands have been successfully applied in the challenging asymmetric hydrogenation of tetrasubstituted olefins under mild reaction conditions. Gratifyingly, these catalyst precursors are not only able to efficiently hydrogenate a range of indene derivatives (ee's up to 96%) but also 1,2-dihydro-napthalene derivatives and acyclic olefins (ee's up to 99%), which both constitute the most challenging substrates for this transformation.