Cobalt-Catalyzed and Lewis Acid-Assisted Nitrile Hydrogenation to Primary Amines: A Combined Effort

Kenan Tokmic, Bailey J. Jackson, Andrea Salazar, Toby J. Woods, Alison R. Fout

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The selective hydrogenation of nitriles to primary amines using a bench-stable cobalt precatalyst under 4 atm of H2 is reported herein. The catalyst precursor was reduced in situ using NaHBEt3, and the resulting Lewis acid formed, BEt3, was found to be integral to the observed catalysis. Mechanistic insights gleaned from para-hydrogen induced polarization (PHIP) transfer NMR studies revealed that the pairwise hydrogenation of nitriles proceeded through a Co(I/III) redox process.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)13554-13561
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume139
Issue number38
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 27 2017

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • General Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

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