Catalytic Hydrogenation of Halosteroidal Derivatives by Bipyridine or Phenanthroline Complexes of Copper(II) in Hydrazine Aqueous Media

We report two synthetic systems, Cu(Bpy)2+ and Cu(Phen)2+, for catalytic hydrogenation of steroidal haloalkenes in the presence of hydrazine and air. Thesestudies demonstrated that the selective hydrogenation is faster for the 1,10‐phenanthroline–Cu(II) system because forming more stable copper complex are formed, leaving fewer free copper ions in solution. Evidence also supports that the catalytic power of Cu(II) ions can be tuned moderately through the addition of bidentate ligand, Bpy or Phen.