Ruthenium-catalyzed reduction of racemic tricarbonyl(η-aryl ketone)chromium complexes using transfer hydrogenation: A simple alternative to the resolution of planar chiral organometallics

Racemic planar chiral (η⁶-aryl ketone)Cr(CO)₃ complexes (aryl ketone = 1-indanone, 1-tetralone, 4-chromanone and thiochroman-4-one) were prepared by refluxing the aryl ketone with Cr(CO)₆ in a 10:1 mixture of dibutyl ether and THF. The reductions of the organometallic ketones by transfer hydrogenation in 2-propanol containing KOH and the catalyst precursor, generated from RuCl₂(η⁶-benzene)]₂ and (−)-ephedrine, resulted in optically active syn-(R,S)-(η⁶-aryl alcohol)Cr(CO)₃ and (R)-(η⁶-aryl ketone)Cr(CO)₃ compounds in 31-97% ee. Reduction of racemic (η⁶-thiochroman-4-one)Cr(CO)₃ with the catalyst precursor generated from (+)-norephedrine, instead of (−)-ephedrine, inverted the configuration of the products obtained. Syn-(S,R)-(η⁶-thiochroman-4-ol)Cr(CO)₃ and (S)-(η⁶-thiochroman-4-one)-Cr(CO)₃ were isolated in 49% and >95% ee, respectively. The free aryl ketones were reduced using the same conditions as their respective chromium complexes, giving aryl alcohols in high ee (>95%). Reactions of non-rigid acetophenone, propriophenone and their tricarbonylchromium complexes resulted in moderate to low ee.