METHOD FOR PRODUCING OPTICALLY ACTIVE CARBOXYLIC ACID

摘要

A method for producing a desired optically active carboxylic acid with a high optical purity, wherein a complex catalyst used can be recovered and reused as an aqueous solution. The method contains the step of subjecting an alpha,beta-unsaturated carboxylic acid in water or a mixed solvent of water and a water-insoluble organic solvent in the presence of a sulfonated BINAP-Ru complex represented by the formula [3]: [RuX(arene){(SO<3#191M)?2#191-BINAP}]X [3]wherein X represents a chlorine atom, a bromine atom or an iodine atom, arene represents a benzene or an alkyl-substituted benzene, M represents an alkaline metal atom, and BINAP represents 2,2'-bis(diphenylphosphine)-1,1'-binaphthyl to an asymmetric hydrogenation. The sulfonated BINAP-Ru complex can be recycled.