| Abstract: | Silica‐supported chitosan‐platinum‐iron complex (SiO2‐CS‐Pt‐Fe) is prepared by a simple method from silica, chitosan, H2PtCl6 · 6H2O and FeCl3. It has been found to be an effective chiral catalyst for the asymmetric hydrogenation of 2‐hexanone to give (S)‐(+)‐2‐hexanol and methyl acetoacetate to give methyl‐(S)‐(+)‐3‐hydroxybutyrate in 85.4 and 75.0% optical yields, respectively, if a proper content of Pt and Fe in SiO2‐CS‐Pt‐Fe complex and appropriate reaction conditions are selected at room temperature and under 1 atm H2. The catalyst could be reused several times without any remarkable change in optical catalytic activity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
