Stable preformed chiral palladium catalysts for the one-pot asymmetric reductive amination of ketones.

The application of air stable preformed [(R)-BINAP]PdBr2, [(S)-BINAP]PdBr2, [(R)-Tol-BINAP]PdBr2, and [(S,S)-CHIRAPHOS]PdBr2 complexes in the one-pot asymmetric reductive amination of various carbonyl compounds, leading to chiral amines in very good yields with high enantioselectivities (<99% ee), is reported.