Amino Acid Derived Sulfinamide Ligands for Transfer Hydrogenation

Significance

While chiral sulfoxides have found numerous applications as chiral ligands in various asymmetric transformations, few reports of related chiral sulfinamides as ligands exist. Here, the authors describe the design and synthesis of several chiral sulfinamides from simple amino acids. With ruthenium as metal source, these ligands were applied in the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of several acetophenone derivatives to give products in modest yields and with high ee values.