Phosphorus ligand development for transition metal catalyzed reactions

This thesis summarizes the author's graduate research on phosphorus ligands synthesis and catalytic asymmetric. The first chapter describes the design and synthesis of novel P-chiral ligands and their applications in asymmetric hydrogenation. Those ligands exhibit extremely high enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) and reactivities (up to 50 000 TON) for rhodium-catalyzed hydrogenation of a wide range of functionalized olefin derivatives. Chapter 2 delineates asymmetric hydrogenation of oxime esters and ketoenamides, which affords new approaches for the synthesis of optically pure chiral amines. In Chapter 3, the development of two tetraphosphorous ligands (TPPB and Tetrabi) is discussed. Those ligands are based on a biphenyl backbone and can be successfully applied in the highly regioselective hydroformylation of terminal olefins and internal olefins.