Chemo- and Enantioselective Reduction of α-Keto Amides to α-Hydroxy Amides using Reusable CuO-Nanoparticles as Catalyst.

An efficient, commercially available, and reusable copper-oxide nanoparticle (CuO-NPs) and ( R )-(-)-DTBM SEGPHOS catalyzed chemo- and enantioselective reduction of α-keto amides to α-hydroxy amides has been developed. The scope of the reaction has been studied with various α-keto amides containing electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups affording the enantiomerically enriched α-hydroxy amides in good yields with excellent enantioselectivity. The CuO-NPs catalyst has been recovered and reused up to four catalytic cycles without any significant change in particle size, reactivity, and enantioselectivity.