RECENT ADVANCES IN ASYMMETRIC HYDROGENATI ON BY MEANS OF TRANSITION-METAL COMPLEXES

Recent developments in homogeneous asymmetric hydrogenation by use of manufactured transition metal catalysts are remarkable. Their efficien cies are now often comparable or even superior to those of biocatalyst s, and an increasing number of transition metal catalyzed asymmetric h ydrogenations have been applied to industrial production of optically active compounds. This report deals with asymmetric hydrogenation cata lyzed by homogeneous transition metal complexes by putting the emphasi s on recent advances in this research field. Especially, asymmetric hy drogenation catalyzed by BINAP-matal complexes has been discussed.