Synthesis of Versatile Chiral N,P Ligands Derived from Pyridine and Quinoline

Potent transition-metal complexes for asymmetric catalysis are formed from readily accessible N,P ligands constructed from basic N-heteroaryl building blocks (see structure). Their simple assembly should not be misconstrued: they posses several handles by which to tune both steric and electronic parameters. The potential of these ligands is demonstrated by the high levels of enantioselection they induce in such divergent processes as asymmetric hydrogenation and the Heck reaction.