Study on enantioselective hydrogenation to synthesize ethyl (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyrate

Enantioselective hydrogenation of Ethyl 2-oxo-4-phenylbutyrate to Ethyl (R)-2-hy-droxy-4-phenylbutyrate on cinchona-modified platinum catalysts was studied. The influences of HCd amount, initial EOPB concentration, hydrogen pressure and temperature on conversion and yield of Ethyl (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyrate were investigated. Under the better reaction conditions, the yield of Ethyl (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyrate can exceed 70%. The experimental results demonstrated that rates and enantiometric excesses showed good linear correlation in the reactions. The conclusions can be used for the reference to study the analogous reaction systems.