| abstract |
The invention provides a method comprising hydrogenating a ketone in the presence of (i) a base, (ii) hydrogen gas and (iii) a catalyst comprising a charged or neutral complex of formula (I): (I) wherein: Mn is a manganese atom or a manganese ion in oxidation state (I) to (VII); R 1 and R 2 are each independently optionally substituted C 4-8 monocyclic aryl or C 3-7 monocyclic heteroaryl moieties; -Fc- denotes a ferrocene (bis(η| 5 -cyclopentadienyl)iron) moiety covalently bonded via adjacent carbon atoms of one of the two cyclopentadienyl moieties, and which may be optionally further substituted, in either cyclopentadienyl ring; -Z- is an alkylene linker of the formula -(CH 2 ) 1-6 - in which one or more of the hydrogen atoms of the alkylene may be independently substituted; -Nx is an optionally substituted nitrogen-containing heteroaryl moiety, with the proviso that at least one of R 1 , R 2 and -N x is substituted one or more times with an electron donating group; and L 1 -L 3 constitute one, two or three ligands, wherein, when the complex of formula (I) is charged, the catalyst comprises one or more additional counterions to balance the charge of the complex. ηη |