Montedison S.p.a.

Annamaria Camus

Giovanni Mestroni

Grazia Zassinovich

This invention relates to a process for the reduction of .alpha.-,.beta.-unsaturated linear homo- and heterocyclic ketones by a transfer of hydrogen from an alcohol donor to said unsaturated ketone. The alcohol donor must be unsubstituted or substituted with an inert group. Also the alcohol donor may be a primary or secondary alcohol or a glycol. The process is a catalytic one and is carried out in the presence of complexed iridium and rhodium catalysts of the following formulae: ##STR1## wherein: M is selected from Ir and Rh;

Process for the catalytic reduction of unsaturated ketones

Catalytic reduction of carbonyl compounds by transfer of hydrogen from alcohols to aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic, homo- and heterocyclic ketones or aldehydes, catalyzed by rhodium or iridium complexes, characterized in that a primary or secondary alcohol of formula (I) or a glycol: ##STR1## is reacted with a ketonic compound of formula (II): ##STR2## in which R and R' and, respectively, R' and R'', optionally linked with each other according to homo- or heterocycles, indifferently represent a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbyl group having up to 30 atoms of carbon, also substituted, provided that at least one of symbols R' and/or R'' is different respectively from R and/or R', in the presence of a complex catalyst of rhodium or of iridium selected from those having formulas (III) and (IV): ##STR3## wherein: M is selected from Rh and Ir;

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Trieste, Italy

Annamaria Camus