Chiral Catalysts & Ligands

The quest for novel, efficient chiral catalysts and ligands for enantiopure molecules is an ongoing endeavor in the pharmaceutical, flavors and fragrances, and agrochemical industries. Nearly 85% of new drugs in the market are chiral. This need has led to developments in asymmetric synthesis of chiral ligands and metal complexes. In 2001, the Nobel Prize rewarded the pioneering work of Knowles, Noyori, and Sharpless in the development of catalytic asymmetric synthesis, highlighting the importance of chiral synthesis in chemistry. With the pioneering work of Noyori in the 1980s with BINAP ligands an era began where catalysts and ligands became more effective and selective. Hydrogenation, hydroformylation, hydroboration, hydrosilation, and cross-coupling are some of the more popular applications using chiral ligands.