Chemoselectivity in the reduction of substituted conjugated enones catalyzed by iridium/phosphine systems appears to be slightly dependent on the charge distribution around the carbonyl group of the substrates: electron withdrawing groups enhance the reduction rate of the ketonic function. Enantioselectivity, in the case of the catalytic system studied, appears to be related essentially to the steric hindrance in the substrate.
Über p-Dimethylamino-benzal-ketone I. Zur Kenntnis der auxochromen Gruppen