Primary Amines by Transfer Hydrogenative Reductive Amination of Ketones by Using Cyclometalated IrIII Catalysts

Cyclometalated iridium complexes are found to be versatile catalysts for the direct reductive amination (DRA) of carbonyls to give primary amines under transfer‐hydrogenation conditions with ammonium formate as both the nitrogen and hydrogen source. These complexes are easy to synthesise and their ligands can be easily tuned. The activity and chemoselectivity of the catalyst towards primary amines is excellent, with a substrate to catalyst ratio (S/C) of 1000 being feasible. Both aromatic and aliphatic primary amines were obtained in high yields. Moreover, a first example of homogeneously catalysed transfer‐hydrogenative DRA has been realised for β‐keto ethers, leading to the corresponding β‐amino ethers. In addition, non‐natural α‐amino acids could also be obtained in excellent yields with this method.     

General Reductive Amination of Aldehydes and Ketones with Amines and Nitroaromatics under H2 by Recyclable Iridium Catalysts

Heterogeneous iridium catalysts were prepared and applied for the reductive amination of aldehydes and ketones with nitroaromatics and amines using H₂ . The iridium catalysts were prepared by pyrolysis of ionic liquid 1‐methyl‐3‐cyanomethylimidazoulium chloride ([MCNI ]Cl) with iridium chloride (IrCl₃ ) in activated carbons. Iridium particles were well dispersed and stable in the N‐doped carbon materials from [MCNI ]Cl with activated carbon. The Ir@NC (600‐2h) catalyst was found to be highly active and selective for the reductive amination of aldehydes and ketones using H₂ and a variety of nitrobenzenes and amines were selectively converted into the corresponding secondary and tertiary amines. The Ir@NC (600‐2h) catalyst can be reusable several times without evident deactivation.     

Fast Reductive Amination by Transfer Hydrogenation “on Water”

Reductive amination of various ketones and aldehydes by transfer hydrogenation under aqueous conditions has been developed, by using cyclometallated iridium complexes as catalysts and formate as hydrogen source. The pH value of the solution is shown to be critical for a high catalytic chemoselectivity and activity, with the best pH value being 4.8. In comparison with that in organic solvents, the reductive amination in an aqueous phase is faster, and the molar ratio of the substrate to the catalyst (S/C) can be set as high as 1×10⁵, the highest S/C value ever reported in reductive amination reactions. The catalyst is easy to access and the reaction is operationally simple, allowing a wide range of ketones and aldehydes to react with various amines in high yields. The protocol provides a practical and environmental friendly new method for the synthesis of amine compounds.     

Air Stable Iridium Catalysts for Direct Reductive Amination of Ketones

Half-sandwich iridium complexes bearing bidentate urea-phosphorus ligands were found to catalyze the direct reductive amination of aromatic and aliphatic ketones under mild conditions at 0.5 mol % loading with high selectivity towards primary amines. One of the complexes was found to be active in both the Leuckart–Wallach (NH₄CO₂H) type reaction as well as in the hydrogenative (H₂/NH₄AcO) reductive amination. The protocol with ammonium formate does not require an inert atmosphere, dry solvents, as well as additives and in contrast to previous reports takes place in hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) instead of methanol. Applying NH₄CO₂D or D₂ resulted in a high degree of deuterium incorporation into the primary amine α-position.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic reductive amination

The first enantioselective organocatalytic reductive amination reaction has been accomplished. The development of a new chiral phosphoric acid catalyst has provided a convenient strategy for the enantioselective construction of protected primary amines and provided a highly stereoselective method for the reductive amination of heterocyclic amines. A diverse spectrum of ketone and amine substrates can be accommodated in high yield and excellent enantioselectivity. This new protocol realizes a key benefit of reductive amination versus imine reduction, in that ketimines derived from alkyl-alkyl ketones are unstable to isolation, a fundamental limitation that is comprehensively bypassed using this direct organocatalytic reductive amination.     

Reductive Amination by Photoredox Catalysis and Polarity‐Matched Hydrogen Atom Transfer

The excitation of a Ru^II photosensitizer in the presence of ascorbic acid leads to the reduction of iminium ions to electron‐rich α‐aminoalkyl radical intermediates, which are rapidly converted into reductive amination products by thiol‐mediated hydrogen atom transfer (HAT). As a result, the reductive amination of carbonyl compounds with amines by photoredox catalysis proceeds in good to excellent yields and with broad substrate scope and good functional group tolerance. The three key features of this work are 1) the rapid interception of electron‐rich α‐aminoalkyl radical intermediates by polarity‐matched HAT in a photoredox reaction, 2) the method of reductive amination by photoredox catalysis itself, and 3) the application of this new method for temporally and spatially controlled reactions on a solid support, as demonstrated by the attachment of a fluorescent dye on an activated cellulose support by photoredox‐catalyzed reductive amination.     

Consecutive Intermolecular Reductive Amination/Asymmetric Hydrogenation: Facile Access to Sterically Tunable Chiral Vicinal Diamines and N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes

A highly enantioselective iridium‐ or ruthenium‐catalyzed intermolecular reductive amination/asymmetric hydrogenation relay with 2‐quinoline aldehydes and aromatic amines has been developed. A broad range of sterically tunable chiral N,N′‐diaryl vicinal diamines were obtained in high yields (up to 95 %) with excellent enantioselectivity (up to >99 % ee). The resulting chiral diamines could be readily transformed into sterically hindered chiral N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursors, which are otherwise difficult to access. The usefulness of this synthetic approach was further demonstrated by the successful application of one of the chiral vicinal diamines and chiral NHC ligands in a transition‐metal‐catalyzed asymmetric Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐coupling reaction and asymmetric ring‐opening cross‐metathesis, respectively.     

Inside Cover: General Reductive Amination of Aldehydes and Ketones with Amines and Nitroaromatics under H2 by Recyclable Iridium Catalysts (Chin. J. Chem. 9/2017)

The inside cover picture shows secondary and tertiary amines, which are important intermediates in organic synthesis for the preparation of natural products, pharmaceutical and agronomical compounds. The direct reductive amination of aldehydes and ketones represents a powerful tool for the preparation of secondary and tertiary amines. Here, direct and general reductive amination of aldehydes and ketones with amines and nitroaromatics was presented under H₂ using recyclable iridium catalysts, and lots of secondary and tertiary amines were produced in high yields. Moreover, the heterogeneous iridium catalysts Ir@NC(600‐2h) can be reused several times without evident deactivation. More details are discussed in the article by Huang et al. on page 1371–1377.

     

Metal and organo-catalysed asymmetric hydroaminomethylation of styrenes

A new protocol that enables asymmetric hydroaminomethylation of styrenes to afford chiral amines has been developed. Catalysed by an Rh-phosphine species and a chiral phosphoric acid, styrenes are converted into β-chiral amines with good enantioselectivities under syngas in the presence of an amine and Hantzsch ester. The reaction involves two key steps, hydroformylation and reductive amination, with the former catalysed by the Rh species whilst the latter by the phosphoric acid.     

Manganese-Catalyzed Hydrogenative Desulfurization of Thioamides

Earth-abundant transition metal catalysis has emerged as an important alternative to noble transition metal catalysis in hydrogenation reactions. However, there has been no Earth-abundant transition metal catalyzed hydrogenation of thioamides reported so far, presumably due to the poisoning of catalysts by sulfur-containing molecules. Herein, we described the first manganese-catalyzed hydrogenative desulfurization of thioamides to amines or imines. The key to success is the use of MnBr(CO)₅ instead of commonly-employed pincer-manganese catalysts, together with simple NEt₃ and CuBr. This protocol features excellent selectivity on sole cleavage of the C=S bond of thioamides, in contrast to the only known Ru-catalyzed hydrogenation of thioamides, and unprecedented chemo-selectivity tolerating vulnerable functional groups such as nitrile, ketone, aldehyde, ester, sulfone, nitro, olefin, alkyne and heterocycle, which are usually susceptible to common hydride-type reductive protocols.     

Brevibacterium epidermidis催化酮不对称还原胺化合成(S)-手性胺

光学纯手性胺是一类非常重要的手性化学品,作为手性砌块和手性拆分剂广泛用于医药、农业化学品、精细化学品等产品的合成中.据统计,美国FDA近年来批准的约40％药物中都含有一个或多个手性胺结构单元.胺脱氢酶(AmDH)是由氨基酸脱氢酶改造而来的一类催化酮不对称还原胺化的新酶,其在手性胺的合成中展现出较强的潜力,已引起国内外学术界和工业界的广泛关注.这是因为该酶能够利用廉价的无机铵为胺供体,且具有催化效率高、原子经济性好和环境友好等优点.迄今为止已经有数个高效的胺脱氢酶被成功开发和报道,但是这些通过蛋白质工程改造的胺脱氢酶均为(R)-选择性,因此只能合成(R)-选择性的手性胺,遗憾的是还未见有(S)-选择性胺脱氢酶的报道.因此,本文主要目的是期望从自然环境中鉴定能够不对称还原胺化酮合成(S)-手性胺的微生物,进而从中分离得到能够以无机铵作为胺供体合成(S)-手性胺的(S)-选择性酶.本文首先利用苯乙胺作为唯一氮源,从土壤中筛选能够利用苯乙胺生长的菌株,进而利用苯乙酮作为初筛底物对得到的菌株进行胺化能力筛选,再利用(4-氟苯基)丙酮作为模式底物进行进一步的筛选.幸运的是,我们获得了能够利用无机铵作为胺供体催化(4-氟苯基)丙酮不对称还原胺化合成(S)-4-氟-α-甲基苯乙胺的菌株,经过16S RNA鉴定为表皮短杆菌,命名为B.epidermidis ECU1015.接下来,我们对B.epidermidis ECU1015催化的胺化反应中的关键参数如胺基供体及其最适浓度、反应温度、pH值和底物浓度等进行了优化,确定最佳反应条件:胺供体为NH4Cl(1.25 mol/L),反应温度为30°C,KPB缓冲液(200 mmol/L,pH 7.5),底物浓度10 mmol/L.最后,在最适的反应条件下,我们对B.epidermidis ECU1015催化的底物谱进行了研究.结果表明,该微生物不能催化大位阻芳香酮和链状酮的胺化,对位阻较小的苯乙酮及(4-氟苯基)丙酮具有较好的还原胺化能力,而且对苯环上带有吸电子取代基的酮化合物具有更好的转化效果.经手性分析,所有生成的手性胺均为(S)-构型,产品的光学纯度均>99％.B.epidermidis催化酮不对称胺化所形成的产物构型均为(S)-选择性,这不同于已报道的(R)-选择性胺脱氢酶.该菌株的发现为(S)-选择性胺脱氢酶的进一步鉴定奠定了一定的研究基础,相关蛋白的分离纯化工作正在进行.     

General and selective synthesis of primary amines using Ni-based homogeneous catalysts

The development of base metal catalysts for industrially relevant amination and hydrogenation reactions by applying abundant and atom economical reagents continues to be important for the cost-effective and sustainable synthesis of amines which represent highly essential chemicals. In particular, the synthesis of primary amines is of central importance because these compounds serve as key precursors and central intermediates to produce value-added fine and bulk chemicals as well as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and materials. Here we report a Ni-triphos complex as the first Ni-based homogeneous catalyst for both reductive amination of carbonyl compounds with ammonia and hydrogenation of nitroarenes to prepare all kinds of primary amines. Remarkably, this Ni-complex enabled the synthesis of functionalized and structurally diverse benzylic, heterocyclic and aliphatic linear and branched primary amines as well as aromatic primary amines starting from inexpensive and easily accessible carbonyl compounds (aldehydes and ketones) and nitroarenes using ammonia and molecular hydrogen. This Ni-catalyzed reductive amination methodology has been applied for the amination of more complex pharmaceuticals and steroid derivatives. Detailed DFT computations have been performed for the Ni-triphos based reductive amination reaction, and they revealed that the overall reaction has an inner-sphere mechanism with H₂ metathesis as the rate-determining step.

A Ni-triphos based homogeneous catalyst enabled the synthesis of all kinds of primary amines by reductive amination of carbonyl compounds with ammonia and hydrogenation of nitroarenes.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic reductive amination of aliphatic ketones by benzothiazoline as hydrogen donor

The chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed enantioselective reductive amination of aliphatic ketones with aromatic amines was successfully achieved by the use of benzothiazoline as the hydrogen donor. Corresponding chiral aliphatic amines were obtained with excellent enantioselectivities.     

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Direct Reductive Amination of Carbonyl Compounds for the Synthesis of Amines: An Overview

Reductive amination is a valuable method for amine synthesis that has been the topic of a century‘s worth of in-depth study in both academia and industry. Amines and their derivatives serve as incredibly adaptable building blocks for a broad array of organic substrates and are significant precursors for a myriad of advanced chemicals, physiologically active compounds, agrochemicals, biomolecules, pharmaceuticals, and polymers. The creation of innovative catalytic processes for the long-term and selective synthesis of amines from readily accessible and environmentally benign reagents remains a top priority in chemical research. Both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts have been designed with success to enable these reactions to explore new amines. Ruthenium catalysts are employed in reductive amination owing to their stability, selectivity, versatility, low toxicity, and high efficiency. This review comprehensively overviews the Ru-catalyzed reductive amination processes and includes the literature from 2009 to 2022.     

Intermolecular Enantioselective Benzylic C(sp3)−H Amination by Cationic Copper Catalysis**

Chiral benzylic amines are privileged motifs in pharmacologically active molecules. Intramolecular enantioselective radical C(sp³)−H functionalization by hydrogen-atom transfer has emerged as a straightforward, powerful tool for the synthesis of chiral amines, but methods for intermolecular enantioselective C(sp³)−H amination remain elusive. Herein, we report a cationic copper catalytic system for intermolecular enantioselective benzylic C(sp³)−H amination with peroxide as an oxidant. This mild, straightforward method can be used to transform an array of feedstock alkylarenes and amides into chiral amines with high enantioselectivities, and it has good functional group tolerance and broad substrate scope. More importantly, it can be used to synthesize bioactive molecules, including chiral drugs. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicate that the amination reaction involves benzylic radicals generated by hydrogen-atom transfer.     

Highly enantioselective reductive amination of simple aryl ketones catalyzed by Ir-f-Binaphane in the presence of titanium(IV) isopropoxide and iodine

Using an Ir-f-Binaphane complex as the catalyst, complete conversions and high enantioselectivies (up to 96% ee) were achieved in the asymmetric reductive amination of aryl ketones in the presence of Ti(O(i)()Pr)(4) and I(2). A simple and efficient method of synthesizing chiral primary amines has been realized.     

Reductive Amination of Carbonyl Compounds with Ammonia and Hydrogenation of Nitriles to Primary Amines with Heterogeneous Cobalt Catalysts

Reductive amination of aldehydes/ketones with aqueous NH3 and hydrogenation of nitriles to primary amines with Co catalysts were reported. Co@NC-700 exhibited remarkable activity and high selectivity for the reductive amination of aldehydes/ketones with aqueous NH3 and the hydrogenation of nitriles to primary amines. Several primary amines can be obtained with good to excellent yields via the reductive amination of aldehydes/ketones and the hydrogenation of nitriles. The nitrogen-doped carbon(C)-supported Co@NC-700 metal catalyst was prepared via the pyrolysis of bioMOF Co/adenine in activated C. Co@NC-700 can be reused five times without evident loss of activity.     

Remarkable Differences in Reactivity between Benzothiazoline and Hantzsch Ester as a Hydrogen Donor in Chiral Phosphoric Acid Catalyzed Asymmetric Reductive Amination of Ketones

Described herein are differences in behavior between a Hantzsch ester and a benzothiazoline as hydrogen donors in the chiral phosphoric acid catalyzed asymmetric reductive amination of ketones with p‐anisidine. The asymmetric reductive amination of ketones with a Hantzsch ester as a hydrogen donor provided the corresponding chiral amines exclusively, regardless of the structures of the ketones, whereas a similar transformation with a benzothiazoline provided chiral amines and p‐methoxyphenyl‐protected primary amines in variable yields, depending on the structures of both the ketones and benzothiazolines. Because a benzothiazoline has an N,S‐acetal moiety that is vulnerable to p‐anisidine, the primary amine can be formed through transimination of the benzothiazoline with p‐anisidine followed by reduction of the resulting aldimine with remaining benzothiazoline.     

Metal-based Heterogeneous Catalysts for One-Pot Synthesis of Secondary Anilines from Nitroarenes and Aldehydes

Recently, N-substituted anilines have been the object of increasing research interest in the field of organic chemistry due to their role as key intermediates for the synthesis of important compounds such as polymers, dyes, drugs, agrochemicals and pharmaceutical products. Among the various methods reported in literature for the formation of C–N bonds to access secondary anilines, the one-pot reductive amination of aldehydes with nitroarenes is the most interesting procedure, because it allows to obtain diverse N-substituted aryl amines by simple reduction of nitro compounds followed by condensation with aldehydes and subsequent reduction of the imine intermediates. These kinds of tandem reactions are generally catalyzed by transition metal-based catalysts, mainly potentially reusable metal nanoparticles. The rapid growth in the last years in the field of metal-based heterogeneous catalysts for the one-pot reductive amination of aldehydes with nitroarenes demands for a review on the state of the art with a special emphasis on the different kinds of metals used as catalysts and their recyclability features.     

Scope of the organocatalysed asymmetric reductive amination of ketones with trichlorosilane

A highly active organocatalyst has been shown to affect the asymmetric reductive amination of ketones producing both aromatic and aliphatic amines. At 1 mol% catalyst loading, a series of structurally diverse chiral amines were quickly and economically prepared with good enantioselectivity and generally useful yield. The efficient synthesis of the calcimimetic (+)-NPS R-568 (67%, 89% ee) demonstrated the synthetic applicability of this methodology.