Katalytische Hydroaminierung von Alkenen und Alkinen

Nitrogen containing molecules are among the most important classes of chemical subbtances. They play an outstanding role as biologically active compounds as well as industrial chemicals. In the past these facts lead to the development of a large number of methods for the synthesis of amines, imines and enamines. While most of these well established methods employ ketones/altlehydes or nitro compounds as starting materials, the direct conversion of alkenes or alkynes into nitrogen containing compounds is not very common. This is surprising because the direct addition of amines or ammonia to alkynes and alkenes (hydroamination) represents the shortest and economically most interesting way for the synthesis of amines, imines and enamines. A general method for this transfomation would produce the desired nitrogen containing compounds in a single step without the production of waste. To solve this synthetic problem, several more or less successful attempts have been made in the past. In this review we describe established as well as new and promising methods for the catalytic hydroamination of alkenes and alkynes. The catalysts mentioned are alkali metals, alkali metal hydrides and amides, lanthanoid complexes, carly and late transition metal complexes as well as zeolithes. For each type of catalyst the reaction mechanism is described. Further, the scope and limitations of each procedure is discussed.