REACTION CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING, vol.8, no.2, pp.424-431, 2022 (SCI-Expanded)
In this study, non-ionic surfactants, namely Synperonic (R) F108 and Tween (R) F108, were used as media to dissolve [RuCl(p-cymene)(R,R)-Ts-DPEN] for the dosage delivery and recycling of chiral ruthenium catalysts in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation reactions of ketones in water. The non-ionic surfactant-based catalytic systems bearing ruthenium catalysts in microgram scale can be used directly to conduct transfer hydrogenation reactions in nano-sized micelle structures (60-90 nm) in water under an air atmosphere. The micellar catalyst in the aqueous phase can be recycled from the reaction mixture and can be used up to 8 times in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation reactions of acetophenone.