Ligand design for asymmetric transfer hydrogenations in aqueous medium

Abstract

The present thesis focuses on the synthesis of new chiral ionic ligands designed to fulfill the requirements for the application in asymmetric transfer hydrogenations. Based on a chiral amino alcohol and a chiral diamine structural motive, highly coordinating chiral ionic ligands with bidentate structural motive were obtained. By introducing an ionic head group, the solubility of the designed ligands could be adapted via the choice of anion. Moreover, different substitution patterns for diamine based chiral ionic ligands were exploited. The newly designed ligands were successfully applied in transition metal catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation in aqueous medium. By taking advantage of the tunable properties of the designed ligands, their positive effect on asymmetric transfer hydrogenation could be demonstrated.