A Homogeneous Catalyst for Reduction of Optically Active Esters to the Corresponding Chiral Alcohols without Loss of Optical Purities

A ruthenium complex was found to catalyze the hydrogen reduction of esters under mild and neutral conditions. A variety of optically active esters can be reduced to the corresponding alcohols in excellent yield without loss of their optical purity or causing undesirable side reactions. Hydrogen reduction needs such simple operations – reaction, concentration, and purification – that the violent quench step and extraction step, which accompany conventional sodium borohydride or lithium aluminum hydride reduction, can be omitted.