Nickel-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of N-Sulfonyl Imines

An efficient nickel-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of N-tBu-sulfonyl imines was developed with excellent yields and enantioselectivities using (R,R)-QuinoxP* as a chiral ligand. The use of a much lower catalyst loading (0.0095 mol %, S/C=10500) represents the highest catalytic activity for the Ni-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenations reported so far. Mechanistic studies suggest that a coordination equilibrium exists between the nickel salt and its complex, and that excess nickel salt promotes the formation of the active Ni-complex, and therefore improved the efficiency of the hydrogenation. The catalytic cycle was also investigated by calculations to determine the origin of the enantioselectivity. An extensive network of numerous weak attractive interactions was found to exist between the catalyst and substrate in the transition state and may also contribute to the high catalytic activity.