Disclosed are ruthenium complexes of phosphine-aminophosphine ligands that
may be used to catalyze large number of reactions of a wide variety of substrates
such as asymmetric hydrogenations, asymmetric reductions, asymmetric hydroborations,
asymmetric olefin isomerizations, asymmetric hydrosilations, asymmetric allylations,
and asymmetric organometallic additions. Also disclosed is a process for the preparation
of the ruthenium complexes and processes for the enantioselective asymmetric hydrogenations
of 1,3-dicarbonyl, -hydroxycarbonyl, and -hydroxycarbonyl compounds
to produce the corresponding hydroxycarbonyl, 1,2-diol, and 1,3-diol compounds,
respectively, using the ruthenium complexes to catalyze the hydrogenation.