Enantioselective synthesis of tunable chiral pyridine-aminophosphine ligands and their applications in asymmetric hydrogenation.

A small library of tunable chiral pyridine-aminophosphine ligands were enantioselectively synthesized based on chiral 2-(pyridin-2-yl)-substituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline scaffolds, which were obtained in high yields and with excellent enantioselectivities via ruthenium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of 2-(pyridin-2-yl)quinolines. The protocol features a wide substrate scope and mild reaction conditions, enabling scalable synthesis. These chiral P,N ligands were successfully applied in the Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of benchmark olefins and challenging seven-membered cyclic imines including benzazepines and benzodiazepines. Excellent enantio- and diastereoselectivity (up to 99% ee and >20 : 1 dr), and/or unprecedented chemoselectivity were obtained in the asymmetric hydrogenation of 2,4-diaryl-3H-benzo[b]azepines and 2,4-diaryl-3H-benzo[b][1,4]diazepines.