Abstract The iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of 13 different β-dehydroamino acid derivatives to give optically active β-amino acid esters has been examined. Readily accessible monodentate octahydrobinaphthol-based phosphoramidites were used as chiral ligands. Good to excellent enantioselectivities and yields were obtained for the E isomers, whereas poorer catalyst performance was found for the Z isomers. Importantly, to obtain ...