Platinum-catalyzed direct amination of allylic alcohols with aqueous ammonia: selective synthesis of primary allylamines

Molybdenum Complex-Catalyzed N-Alkylation of Bulky Primary and Secondary Amines

Aliphatic allylic amines are present in a large number of complex and pharmaceutically relevant molecules. The direct amination of allylic electrophiles serves as the most common method toward the preparation of these motifs. However, the use of feedstock reaction components (allyl alcohol and aliphatic amine) in these transformations remains a great challenge. Such a challenge primarily stems from the high Lewis basicity and large steric hindrance of aliphatic amines, in addition to the low reactivity of allylic alcohols. Herein, we report a general solution to these challenges. The developed protocol allows an efficient allylic amination of allyl alcohols with sterically bulky aliphatic amines in the presence of an inexpensive earth-abundant molybdenum complex. This simple and economic protocol also enables regioselective branched amination; the practicality of the reaction was shown in an efficient, scaled-up synthesis of several drugs.

Primary Allylic Amine Synthesis via Pd-Catalyzed Direct Amination of Allylic Alcohols with Ammonium Acetate

Pd/DPEphos-catalyzed direct amination of allylic alcohols with readily available ammonium acetate as a nitrogen source provides access to convenient and scalable syntheses of primary allylic amines with high monoallylation selectivity. Mechanistic studies revealed that ammonium acetate functions as a Brønsted acid to activate the hydroxyl groups and inhibit overreaction.

A Chemoselective Polarity-Mismatched Photocatalytic C(sp3 )-C(sp2 ) Cross-Coupling Enabled by Synergistic Boron Activation

We report the development of a C(sp3 )-C(sp2 ) coupling reaction using styrene boronic acids and redox-active esters under photoredox catalysis. The reaction proceeds through an unusual polarity-mismatched radical addition mechanism that is orthogonal to established processes. Synergistic activation of the radical precursor and organoboron are critical mechanistic events. Activation of an N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) ester by coordination to boron enables electron transfer, with decomposition leading to a nucleofuge rebound, activating the organoboron to radical addition. The unique mechanism enables chemoselective coupling of styrene boronic acids in the presence of other alkene radical acceptors. The scope and limitations of the reaction, and a detailed mechanistic investigation are presented.

Metal-Free Construction of Multisubstituted Indolizines via Intramolecular Amination of Allylic Alcohols

An intramolecular amination of allylic alcohols is developed as an efficient and general access to biologically important multisubstituted indolizines and their variants. Two metal-free synthetic platforms including using aqueous hydrochloric acid solution as the solvent and p-toluenesulfonic acid as the catalyst have been established, enabling the divergent synthesis of these valuable compounds in high yields.

Electrochemical C-N coupling of CO2 and nitrogenous small molecules for the electrosynthesis of organonitrogen compounds

Electrochemical C-N coupling reactions based on abundant small molecules (such as CO₂ and N₂) have attracted increasing attention as a new "green synthetic strategy" for the synthesis of organonitrogen compounds, which have been widely used in organic synthesis, materials chemistry, and biochemistry. The traditional technology employed for the synthesis of organonitrogen compounds containing C-N bonds often requires the addition of metal reagents or oxidants under harsh conditions with high energy consumption and environmental concerns. By contrast, electrosynthesis avoids the use of other reducing agents or oxidants by utilizing "electrons", which are the cleanest "reagent" and can reduce the generation of by-products, consistent with the atomic economy and green chemistry. In this study, we present a comprehensive review on the electrosynthesis of high value-added organonitrogens from the abundant CO₂ and nitrogenous small molecules (N₂, NO, NO₂^-, NO₃^-, NH₃, etc.) via the C-N coupling reaction. The associated fundamental concepts, theoretical models, emerging electrocatalysts, and value-added target products, together with the current challenges and future opportunities are discussed. This critical review will greatly increase the understanding of electrochemical C-N coupling reactions, and thus attract research interest in the fixation of carbon and nitrogen.

Pd-catalyzed access to mono- and di-fluoroallylic amines from primary anilines

The Pd-catalyzed highly selective synthesis of mono- and di-2-fluoroallylic amines from gem-difluorocyclopropanes and ubiquitous unprotected primary anilines is herein described. Initial kinetic investigations suggest a first order in the gem-difluorocyclopropane substrate, as well as a circa zeroth order in the aniline coupling partner. The newly produced fluoroallylic motifs should find important applications in synthetic as well as medicinal chemistry and stimulate the further development of coupling methods based on strained cyclic building blocks.

Nanoparticles and single atoms of cobalt synergistically enabled low-temperature reductive amination of carbonyl compounds

Low-temperature and selective reductive amination of carbonyl compounds is a highly promising approach to access primary amines. However, it remains a great challenge to conduct this attractive route efficiently over earth-abundant metal-based catalysts. Herein, we designed several Co-based catalysts (denoted as Co@C–N(x), where x represents the pyrolysis temperature) by the pyrolysis of the metal–organic framework ZIF-67 at different temperatures. Very interestingly, the prepared Co@C–N(800) could efficiently catalyze the reductive amination of various aldehydes/ketones to synthesize the corresponding primary amines with high yields at 35 °C. Besides non-noble metal and mild temperature, the other unique advantage of the catalyst was that the substrates with different reduction-sensitive groups could be converted into primary amines selectively because the Co-based catalyst was not active for these groups at low temperature. Systematic analysis revealed that the catalyst was composed of graphene encapsulated Co nanoparticles and atomically dispersed Co–N_x sites. The Co particles promoted the hydrogenation step, while the Co–N_x sites acted as acidic sites to activate the intermediate (Schiff base). The synergistic effect of metallic Co particles and Co–N_x sites is crucial for the excellent performance of the catalyst Co@C–N(800). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on efficient synthesis of primary amines via reductive amination of carbonyl compounds over earth-abundant metal-based catalysts at low temperature (35 °C).

An earth-abundant Co-based catalyst, Co@C–N(800), could efficiently catalyze the reductive amination of carbonyl compounds into primary amines at 35 °C owing to the synergistic effect of Co nanoparticles and atomically dispersed Co–N_x sites.

Ruthenium(ii)-catalysed direct synthesis of mono-allylation products of 1,3-diketones from cinnamyl alcohols

The complex, [Ru(p-cymene)(dppe)Cl]PF6·C7H8 is an efficient catalyst for the direct carbon–carbon bond formation reactions to form enantio- and regioselective mono-allylation products of diketones by cinnamyl alcohol with high yield.

Tuning the selectivity of catalytic nitriles hydrogenation by structure regulation in atomically dispersed Pd catalysts

The product selectivity in catalytic hydrogenation of nitriles is strongly correlated with the structure of the catalyst. In this work, two types of atomically dispersed Pd species stabilized on the defect-rich nanodiamond-graphene (ND@G) hybrid support: single Pd atoms (Pd₁/ND@G) and fully exposed Pd clusters with average three Pd atoms (Pd_n/ND@G), were fabricated. The two catalysts show distinct difference in the catalytic transfer hydrogenation of nitriles. The Pd₁/ND@G catalyst preferentially generates secondary amines (Turnover frequency (TOF@333 K 709 h⁻¹, selectivity >98%), while the Pd_n/ND@G catalyst exhibits high selectivity towards primary amines (TOF@313 K 543 h⁻¹, selectivity >98%) under mild reaction conditions. Detailed characterizations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the structure of atomically dispersed Pd catalysts governs the dissociative adsorption pattern of H₂ and also the hydrogenation pathway of the benzylideneimine (BI) intermediate, resulting in different product selectivity over Pd₁/ND@G and Pd_n/ND@G, respectively. The structure-performance relationship established over atomically dispersed Pd catalysts provides valuable insights for designing catalysts with tunable selectivity.

The selective hydrogenation of nitriles to prepare corresponding amines is highly desired in chemistry industry. Here, the authors selectively obtained secondary amines and primary amines over two types of atomically dispersed Pd catalysts supported on the nanodiamond-graphene hybrid support.

Electrochemical reduction of acetonitrile to ethylamine

Electrifying chemical manufacturing using renewable energy is an attractive approach to reduce the dependence on fossil energy sources in chemical industries. Primary amines are important organic building blocks; however, the synthesis is often hindered by the poor selectivity because of the formation of secondary and tertiary amine byproducts. Herein, we report an electrocatalytic route to produce ethylamine selectively through an electroreduction of acetonitrile at ambient temperature and pressure. Among all the electrocatalysts, Cu nanoparticles exhibit the highest ethylamine Faradaic efficiency (~96%) at -0.29 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. Under optimal conditions, we achieve an ethylamine partial current density of 846 mA cm-2. A 20-hour stable performance is demonstrated on Cu at 100 mA cm-2 with an 86% ethylamine Faradaic efficiency. Moreover, the reaction mechanism is investigated by computational study, which suggests the high ethylamine selectivity on Cu is due to the moderate binding affinity for the reaction intermediates.

Catalytic Oxidative Deamination by Water with H2 Liberation

Selective oxidative deamination has long been considered to be an important but challenging transformation, although it is a common critical process in the metabolism of bioactive amino compounds. Most of the synthetic methods developed so far rely on the use of stoichiometric amounts of strong and toxic oxidants. Here we present a green and efficient method for oxidative deamination, using water as the oxidant, catalyzed by a ruthenium pincer complex. This unprecedented reaction protocol liberates hydrogen gas and avoids the use of sacrificial oxidants. A wide variety of primary amines are selectively transformed to carboxylates or ketones in good to high yields. It is noteworthy that mechanistic experiments and DFT calculations indicate that in addition to serving as the oxidant, water also plays an important role in assisting the hydrogen liberation steps involved in amine dehydrogenation.

The Synthesis of Primary Amines through Reductive Amination Employing an Iron Catalyst

The reductive amination of ketones and aldehydes by ammonia is a highly attractive method for the synthesis of primary amines. The use of catalysts, especially reusable catalysts, based on earth-abundant metals is similarly appealing. Here, the iron-catalyzed synthesis of primary amines through reductive amination was realized. A broad scope and a very good tolerance of functional groups were observed. Ketones, including purely aliphatic ones, aryl-alkyl, dialkyl, and heterocyclic, as well as aldehydes could be converted smoothly into their corresponding primary amines. In addition, the amination of pharmaceuticals, bioactive compounds, and natural products was demonstrated. Many functional groups, such as hydroxy, methoxy, dioxol, sulfonyl, and boronate ester substituents, were tolerated. The catalyst is easy to handle, selective, and reusable and ammonia dissolved in water could be employed as the nitrogen source. The key is the use of a specific Fe complex for the catalyst synthesis and an N-doped SiC material as catalyst support.

Transition metal-free catalytic reduction of primary amides using an abnormal NHC based potassium complex: integrating nucleophilicity with Lewis acidic activation

An abnormal N-heterocyclic carbene (aNHC) based potassium complex was used as a transition metal-free catalyst for reduction of primary amides to corresponding primary amines under ambient conditions. Only 2 mol% loading of the catalyst exhibits a broad substrate scope including aromatic, aliphatic and heterocyclic primary amides with excellent functional group tolerance. This method was applicable for reduction of chiral amides and utilized for the synthesis of pharmaceutically valuable precursors on a gram scale. During mechanistic investigation, several intermediates were isolated and characterized through spectroscopic techniques and one of the catalytic intermediates was characterized through single-crystal XRD. A well-defined catalyst and isolable intermediate along with several stoichiometric experiments, in situ NMR experiments and the DFT study helped us to sketch the mechanistic pathway for this reduction process unravelling the dual role of the catalyst involving nucleophilic activation by aNHC along with Lewis acidic activation by K ions.

An abnormal N-heterocyclic carbene (aNHC) based potassium complex was used as a transition metal-free catalyst for reduction of primary amides to corresponding primary amines under ambient conditions.

Quasi Pd1Ni single-atom surface alloy catalyst enables hydrogenation of nitriles to secondary amines

Hydrogenation of nitriles represents as an atom-economic route to synthesize amines, crucial building blocks in fine chemicals. However, high redox potentials of nitriles render this approach to produce a mixture of amines, imines and low-value hydrogenolysis byproducts in general. Here we show that quasi atomic-dispersion of Pd within the outermost layer of Ni nanoparticles to form a Pd1Ni single-atom surface alloy structure maximizes the Pd utilization and breaks the strong metal-selectivity relations in benzonitrile hydrogenation, by prompting the yield of dibenzylamine drastically from ∼5 to 97% under mild conditions (80 °C; 0.6 MPa), and boosting an activity to about eight and four times higher than Pd and Pt standard catalysts, respectively. More importantly, the undesired carcinogenic toluene by-product is completely prohibited, rendering its practical applications, especially in pharmaceutical industry. Such strategy can be extended to a broad scope of nitriles with high yields of secondary amines under mild conditions.

Titanium-Catalyzed Cyano-Borrowing Reaction for the Direct Amination of Cyanohydrins with Ammonia

α-Aminonitrile was an important building block in natural products and key intermedia in organic chemistry. Herein, the direct amination of cyanohydrins with the partner of ammonia to synthesis N-unprotected α-aminonitriles is developed. The reaction proceeds via titanium-catalyzed cyano-borrowing reaction, which features high atom economy and simple operation. A broad range of ketone or aldehyde cyanohydrins was tolerated with ammonia, and the N-unprotected α-aminonitriles were synthesis with moderate to high yields under mild reaction conditions.

Pd-Catalyzed Stereodivergent Allylic Amination of α-Tertiary Allylic Alcohols towards α,β-Unsaturated γ-Amino Acids

Tertiary allylic alcohols were conveniently converted into either (Z)- or (E)-configured α,β-unsaturated γ-amino acids by treatment with secondary amines under Pd catalysis at ambient conditions. The key to control the stereochemical course of these formal allylic aminations was the presence of a suitable diphosphine ligand, with dppp [1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane, L12] providing high yields and selectivities for the (Z) isomers, whereas the bis[(2-diphenylphosphino)phenyl]ether (DPEPhos) derivative L1' allowed for selective formation of the corresponding (E) isomeric products. This ligand-controlled, stereodivergent protocol thus shows promise for the stereoselective preparation of allylic amine products from a common substrate precursor.

Catalytic Staudinger Reduction at Room Temperature

We report an efficient catalytic Staudinger reduction at room temperature that enables the preparation of a structurally diverse set of amines from azides in excellent yields. The reaction is based on the use of catalytic amounts of triphenylphosphine as a phosphine source and diphenyldisiloxane as a reducing agent. Our catalytic Staudinger reduction exhibits a high chemoselectivity, as exemplified by reduction of azides over other common functionalities, including nitriles, alkenes, alkynes, esters, and ketones.

Switchable Access to Amines and Imines from Reductive Coupling of Nitroarenes with Alcohols Catalyzed by Biomass-Derived Cobalt Nanoparticles

Cobalt nanoparticles modified with N-doped hierarchical porous carbon derived from biomass are found to be a highly efficient, reusable heterogeneous catalyst for the coupling of nitroarenes with alcohols, selectively affording imines and amines via the borrowing hydrogen strategy for the first time. The product selectivity between imine and amine may be precisely tuned by simple alteration of the reaction conditions without changing the catalyst in one reaction system. In this study, a broad set of complex imines and amines was successfully synthesized in good to high yields with various functional groups tolerated for both nitroarenes and alcohols, highlighting the potentially practical utility of the protocol. This heterogeneous catalyst can be easily removed from the reaction medium by external magnet and can be reused at least four times without significant loss in activity and selectivity.

A Simple, Broad-Scope Nickel(0) Precatalyst System for the Direct Amination of Allyl Alcohols

The preparation of allylic amines is traditionally accomplished by reactions of amines with reactive electrophiles, such as allylic halides, sulfonates, or oxyphosphonium species; such methods involve hazardous reagents, generate stoichiometric waste streams, and often suffer from side reactions (such as overalkylation). We report here the first broad-scope nickel-catalysed direct amination of allyl alcohols: An inexpensive Ni^II /Zn couple enables the allylation of primary, secondary, and electron-deficient amines without the need for glove-box techniques. Under mild conditions, primary and secondary aliphatic amines react smoothly with a range of allyl alcohols, giving secondary and tertiary amines efficiently. This "totally catalytic" method can also be applied to electron-deficient nitrogen nucleophiles; the practicality of the process was demonstrated in an efficient, gram-scale preparation of the calcium antagonist drug substance flunarizine (Sibelium®).

Rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric hydroamination and hydroindolation of keto-vinylidenecyclopropanes

We reported a highly regio- and enantioselective hydroamination and hydroindolation of keto-vinylidenecyclopropanes via cationic Rh(i) catalysis in this context. The combination of various secondary amines and indoles with keto-vinylidenecyclopropanes afforded the corresponding hydrofunctionalization products in good to excellent yields with outstanding ee values under mild conditions. A new TMM-Rh model complex was proposed, providing an atom economical Rh-π-allyl precursor at the same time. Moreover, the resulting products could easily be transformed into more complex polyheterocycles upon further synthetic manipulation.

Substrate switchable Suzuki–Miyaura coupling for benzyl ester vs. benzyl halide

Two reaction conditions were developed to accomplish the substrate switchable (benzyl esters vs. benzyl halides) Suzuki–Miyaura coupling.

Direct use of allylic alcohols and allylic amines in palladium-catalyzed allylic amination

Allylic alcohols and allylic amines were directly utilized in a Pd-catalyzed hydrogen-bond-activated allylic amination under mild reaction conditions in the absence of any additives. The catalytic system is compatible with a variety of functional groups and can be used to prepare a wide range of linear allylic amines in good to excellent yields.

Palladium-Catalyzed C-H Arylation of α,β-Unsaturated Imines: Catalyst-Controlled Synthesis of Enamine and Allylic Amine Derivatives

A unique chemo- and regioselective α- and γ-arylation of palladium azapentadienyl intermediates is presented. Two distinct catalysts and sets of conditions successfully controlled the regioselectivity of the arylation. These methods provide the first umpolung C-H functionalization of azapentadienyl palladium intermediates and enable the divergent synthesis of allylic amine and enamine derivatives, which are of significant interest in the pharmaceutical industry.

Pentacoordinated carboxylate π-allyl nickel complexes as key intermediates for the Ni-catalyzed direct amination of allylic alcohols

Direct amination of allylic alcohols with primary and secondary amines catalyzed by a system made of [Ni(1,5-cyclooctadiene)2 ] and 1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene was effectively enhanced by adding nBu4 NOAc and molecular sieves, affording the corresponding allyl amines in high yield with high monoallylation selectivity for primary amines and high regioselectivity for monosubstituted allylic alcohols. Such remarkable additive effects of nBu4 NOAc were elucidated by isolating and characterizing some nickel complexes, manifesting the key role of a charge neutral pentacoordinated η(3) -allyl acetate complex in the present system, in contrast to usual cationic tetracoordinated complexes earlier reported in allylic substitution reactions.

Transition metal-catalyzed allylic substitution reactions with unactivated allylic substrates

This review highlights recent developments in the area of transition metal-catalyzed allylic substitution reactions with unactivated allylic substrates.

Using aqueous ammonia in hydroaminomethylation reactions: ruthenium-catalyzed synthesis of tertiary amines

The direct synthesis of tertiary amines from ammonia and olefins is presented. Using a combination of Ru3 (CO)12 and 2-phosphino-substituted imidazole ligand as catalyst system allows for hydroaminomethylation reactions of bulk aliphatic and functionalized olefins. Tertiary amines are obtained in an atom-efficient domino process in moderate to good isolated yields (45-76%) with excellent regioselectivities (n/iso up to 99:1).