Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of furan carboxylic acids

Enantioselective hydrogenation of aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds is the field where chirally modified metal hydrogenation catalysts have the biggest potential compared to homogeneous chiral transition metal complexes. Here we report the hydrogenation of furan and benzofuran carboxylic acids over a cinchonidine-modified 5 wt% Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. (S)-Tetrahydrofuran-2-carboxylic acid was synthesized in 4 h at rt and 30 bar with 95% yield and 32% ee. The ee was lower in the hydrogenation of methylfuran carboxylic acids but up to 100% de was achieved. In the slow hydrogenation of benzofuran-2-carboxylic acid, the ee went up to 50% at 29% yield. The potential application of the method is limited by the competing hydrogenation of the quinoline rings of cinchonidine in the latter reaction, necessitating the feeding of small amounts of cinchonidine during reaction. Still, this simple method using an easily available chiral modifier and catalyst affords the highest rate and ee reported so far in the catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation of furan and benzofuran carboxylic acids, and it may be an attractive route in combination with optical resolution. We assume that the reaction mechanism is analogous to that described for α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids over the same catalyst, involving a 1:2-type interaction between the cinchonidine and the acid dimer.