A Salen–Co 3+ Catalyst for the Hydration of Terminal Alkynes and in Tandem Catalysis with Ru–TsDPEN for the One‐Pot Transformation of Alkynes into Chiral Alcohols

The cobalt–salen complex ( C1 :[(salen)Co 3+ (OAc)]; salen= N , N ′‐bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine, OAc=acetate) was found to efficiently promote the hydration of terminal alkynes to give methyl ketones in the presence of the H 2 SO 4 cocatalyst. In addition, the one‐pot transformation of alkynes into chiral alcohols through tandem catalysis by catalyst C1 coupled with a ruthenium–TsDPEN complex ( C3 : [( R , R ‐TsDPEN)Ru 2+ (cymene)]; TsDPEN=(1 R ,2 R ) ‐N ‐( p ‐toluenesulfonyl)‐1,2‐diphenylethylenediamine, cymene=1‐methyl‐4‐(1‐methylethyl)benzene) catalyst was realized with excellent yields and enantioselectivities.