One-Pot Conversion of Alkynyl Ketones into Saturated Chiral Alcohols

Significance

The asymmetric reduction of alkynyl ketones has been well developed, as chiral alcohols serve as useful synthetic intermediates. However, a simple, sequential one-pot ketone/alkyne hydrogenation is useful, since the alkyne is often reduced en route to further products. This report presents a two-step, one-pot Ru-catalyzed asymmetric ketone hydrogenation/Pd-catalyzed alkyne hydrogenation of alkynyl ketones with formic acid as the hydrogen source. Enantioselectivity is generally good, even with linear alkyl/alkynyl ketones.