Hydrogenation of carboxylic acid derivatives with bifunctional ruthenium catalysts

Abstract

AbstractThis paper focuses on recent advances in the chemistry of bifunctional Ru catalysts with chelate protic amine ligands effective for hydrogenation of polar carbonyl compounds. The rational design of the cooperating amine ligand that adjusts the balance of the electronic factors on the M/NH units in the bifunctional catalysts is crucial to exploit the characteristic catalytic performance with a wide scope and high practicability. These bifunctional molecular catalysts offer a great opportunity to develop new fundamental processes for the straightforward hydrogenation of carboxylic acid derivatives as a powerful alternative for classical reduction using stoichiometric amounts of metal hydride reagents.