Dedicated to Peter Vollhardt for all the inspiration he has given the chemistry world
Abstract
An asymmetric homogeneous hydrogenation of 2(1H)-pyridones has been developed, using a ruthenium complex bearing two chiral N-heterocyclic
carbene (NHC) ligands. To the best of our knowledge, the presented reaction is the
first example of a homogeneous asymmetric conversion of 2-pyridones into the corresponding
enantioenriched 2-piperidones.
Key words
asymmetric catalysis - hydrogenation - NHC - piperidone - pyridone