New chiral amino alcohol ligands derived from 1-phenylethylamine for efficient Ru-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation

A series of chiral amino alcohols have been prepared from cheap and readily available (S)-1-phenylethylamine through a one-step transformation. The ability of these newly developed amino alcohols as chiral ligands was evaluated in the Ru-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of aromatic alkyl ketones, providing chiral secondary alcohols with good to excellent conversions (71–100%) and moderate to good enantioselectivities (67–95% ee). The results also showed that the structure of these amino alcohols has a significant influence on the conversion and enantioselectivity.