A chiral hydroxyl bisphospholane, 1, 2-bis [(2S, 3S, 4S, 5S)-3, 4-dihydroxyl-2, 5- dimethylphospholanyl] benzene (4), was synthesized from readily available d-mannitol. Its Rh (I) complex catalyzes asymmetric hydrogenation of dehydroamino acids and their ester derivatives with excellent enantioselectivities (98 to> 99% ee).
[Cativiela, Carlos; Mayoral, Jose A.; Melendez, Enrique; Oro, Luis A.; Pinillos, Maria T.; Uson, Rafael Journal of Organic Chemistry, 1984 , vol. 49, # 13 p. 2502 - 2504]