The previously proposed model for reactant-modifier interaction in the enantioselective hydrogenation of activated carbonyl compounds over platinum chirally modified by cinchona alkaloids has been extended to platinum modified by synthetic pyrrolidinyl-naphthyl-ethanol modifiers. As in the case of cinchonidine, the most used modifier, the model predicts enantiomeric excess in nearly quantitative agreement with experiment. Excellent agreement is achieved despite the fact that structural assumptions had to be made and the platinum surface was not explicitly taken into account. The one-to-one interaction between modifier and reactant was calculated at the ab initio level. A comparison of the results for different modifiers leads to the conclusion that steric repulsion caused by the anchoring group plays an important role in the enantiodifferentiating interaction. The favoured formation of the (R)-product is traced to the fact that the pro-(S) complex leading to the (S)-product upon hydrogenation is more destabilised due to repulsive interaction than the pro-(R) complex. The model calculations are a useful tool for designing effective modifiers and for gaining insight into the mechanism of enantiodifferentiation. (C) 2001 Academic Press.