Patent ID: 7488833

Claim:
A process for the enantioselective preparation of amino alcohols of the formula I in which R 1 denotes a saturated, unsaturated or aromatic carbocyclic or heterocyclic radical which is unsubstituted or mono- or polysubstituted by R 3 and/or R 4 , R 2 denotes alkyl having 1-20 C atoms or H, R 3 , R 4 each, independently of one another, denote H, alkyl or alkoxy having 1-20 C atoms, aryl, aryloxy or COOR 2 , F, Cl, Br, OH, CN, NO 2 , N(R 2 ) 2 or NHCOR 2 and n denotes 0, 1, 2 or 3, by enantioselective hydrogenation of amino ketones of the formula II in which R 1 , R 2 and n have the meaning indicated above, in the presence of a non-racemic catalyst, wherein the catalyst is a transition-metal complex in which the transition metal is complexed to a chiral diphosphine ligand A in which R 5 , R 6 , R 7 and R 8 each, independently of one another, denote H, alkyl or alkoxy having 1-20 C atoms, aryl, aryloxy or F, Cl, Br, N(R 2 ) 2 or NHCOR 2 each, independently of one another, denote R 9 and R 10 or cyclohexyl R 11 denotes H, alkyl or alkoxy having 1-20 C atoms, aryl, aryloxy or SO 3 Na, COOR 12 , F, Cl, N(R 12 ) 2 or NHCOR 12 , R 12 denotes alkyl having 1-20 C atoms or H and m denotes 0, 1, 2 or 3, where R 5 and R 6 , R 6 and R 7 and R 7 and R 8 together can also have the meaning in which Y denotes OH, P(cyclohexyl) 2 , P(3,5-dimethylphenyl) 2 or P(C(CH 3 ) 3 ) 2 , Z denotes H or P(phenyl) 2 , Q denotes PPh 2 , P(cyclohexyl) 2 , P[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl] 2 , P(4-methoxy-3,5-dimethylphenyl) 2 or P(C(CH 3 ) 3 ) 2 and Ph denotes phenyl, o-, m- or p-methylphenyl or dimethylphenyl and wherein the reaction time of the enantioselective hydrogenation is from 0.1 to 30 hours.