Investigation into the enantioselection mechanism of ruthenium–arene–diamine transfer hydrogenation catalysts using fluorinated substrates

The effects of both steric and electronic properties of ketones on the selectivity in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation have been studied with aryl alkyl/fluoroalkyl ketones using four ruthenium based catalysts and two different media. The 1-arylethanones, 1-aryl-2-fluoroethanones and 2,2-difluoroacetophenones could be reduced with medium to high ee (86–99%), while the 1-aryl-2,2,2-trifluoroethanones were reduced with low selectivity in most systems. The change in enantioselectivity upon structural variation has been rationalised aided by regression analysis with substituent constants and the partial charge of the carbonyl carbon as predictors. The steric bulk of the alkyl/fluoroalkyl chain was found to be the major factor in determining selectivity in formic acid/triethylamine, while for reduction of a series of substituted 1-arylethanones and 1-aryl-2-fluoroethanones, the selectivity was found to depend on the electronic properties of the aromatic ring, supporting previous evidence that π–π interaction between the substrate and catalyst is important in determining the selectivity. For reductions in water using sodium formate as the hydrogen donor, altered and more complex selectivity mechanisms were observed. Experiments and regression focused on the variation of the alkyl/fluoroalkyl group of phenyl and 1-naphthyl ketones, showed that the selectivity correlated with the size of the substituent, but also the partial charge of the carbonyl carbon.