Asymmetric synthesis of chiral Roche ester and its derivatives via Rh-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation with chiral phosphine-phosphoramidite ligands
, known as the Roche ester, was prepared with high enantioselectivity (up to 96.7% ee) via the Rh-catalyzedasymmetrichydrogenation of methyl 2-hydroxymethylacrylate with a chiral 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-naphthylamine-derived phosphine-phosphoramidite ligand (THNAPhos 5a) even at a low catalyst loading (0.1 mol %). An investigation on the substrate scope revealed that the ester group present in the substrate