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Updated: Jan 20, 2026
Hydrogen Bonds in Water
Cobalt-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of C=N Bonds Enabled by Assisted Coordination and Nonbonding Interactions
Yanhua Hu1, Zhenfeng Zhang2, Jian Zhang2
1Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Abstract:
An efficient cobalt-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of C=N bonds has been realized. Chiral hydrazines were obtained in high yields and with excellent enantioselectivities (95-98 % ee). The hydrogenation went smoothly at up to 2000 substrate/catalyst and on a gram scale. The success of this reaction relies on the presence of an NHBz group in the substrates, with the reactivity and enantioselectivity improved by an assisted coordination to the cobalt atom and a nonbonding interaction with the ligand. Furthermore, this reaction has practical applications for the synthesis of several useful chiral nitrogen-containing compounds.
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