Polishing a diamond in the rough: "Cu--H" catalysis with silanes

The value of a novel chemical transformation is often underappreciated at the time of its discovery. The reasons are doubtlessly manifold, but the "chemical zeitgeist" subtly determines how the new reaction will be received by the chemical community. The enantioselective reduction of carbonyls by copper-catalyzed hydrosilylation was certainly outshone by other asymmetric hydrogenation techniques. A seminal report at an early stage indicated the considerable potential of this catalytic process, yet it was disregarded for more than a decade. A refined mechanistic picture in connection with a plethora of new chiral ligands then led to copper-catalyzed 1,2- as well as 1,4-reductions of carbonyl compounds with excellent levels of enantioselection at high substrate-to-catalyst ratios and even more remarkable substrate-to-ligand ratios. The tide is turning for inexpensive copper catalysts in asymmetric hydride transfer reactions!