I'm unable to understand the enantioselectivity of Noyori's hydrogenation reaction, and would appreciate any help with the same:
Here's a mechanism I found on Wikipedia:
but, to my disappointment, the highlighted statement, i.e. The (R)-BINAP-Ru catalyze the synthesis the (R)-Product, and the (S)-BINAP Ru catalyze the synthesis the (S)-product with high ee. contradicts the attached paper about Noyori's hydrogenation.
The last two entries of the table mention formation of S products from R-BINAP.
Also, I feel it's not really possible to determine the absolute configuration beforehand, i.e. without knowledge of surrounding groups.
It'd be great if someone could describe the mechanism based enantioselectivity of this reaction in detail, so that correct predictions about the stereochemistry of the product can be made, given the catalyst (R or S BINAP) and the substrate.
Thanks in advance!