Convenient synthesis of chiral H4-BINOL via direct hydrogenation of BINOL

A simple, highly effective hydrogenation of chiral BINOL to provide H4-BINOL in multigram scale with good yield (up to 78% yield) was developed. A series of heterogeneous catalysts was tested in the hydrogenation; the best result was obtained with 5% Pd/C in EtOH under the H2 pressure of 50 bar for 2 h. This method is a more useful method for practical synthesis of optically pure H4-BINOL than other available methods.