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Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Facile Preparation of (2Z,4E)-Dienamides by the Olefination of Electron-deficient Alkenes with Allyl Acetate
Published on: June 21, 2017
Direct asymmetric hydrogenation of 2-oxo-4-arylbut-3-enoic acids
Lvfeng Zhu1, Qinghua Meng, Weizheng Fan
1School of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, 200 Xiaolingwei, Nanjing 210094, China.
Abstract:
A challenging direct asymmetric hydrogenation of (E)-2-oxo-4-arylbut-3-enoic acids to give 2-hydroxy-4-arylbutanoic acids (85.4-91.8% ee) was achieved with a Ru catalyst based on SunPhos as the chiral ligand. Further investigation of the reaction revealed that partial isomerization of 2-hydroxy-4-arylbutenoic acids was involved in the hydrogenation process. Employing the reaction conditions to the hydrogenation of 2-oxo-4-phenylbutanoic acid resulted in better enantioselectivity (91.8% ee) and efficiency (TON = 2000, TOF = 200 h(-1)), which offers a useful method for the synthesis of a common intermediate for ACE inhibitors.
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