Bromodimethylsulfonium bromide (BDMS): a useful reagent for conversion of aldoximes and primary amides to nitriles

An operationally simple and high yielding procedure has been developed for the preparation of nitriles from aldoximes and primary amides using bromodimethylsulfonium bromide (BDMS) as a novel and efficient reagent in the absence of any added base or catalyst. The optimal protocol is applicable to access a wide range of cyano compounds including aromatic, heterocyclic, and aliphatic species. The conversion of aldoximes to nitriles takes place at room temperature in acetonitrile, whereas acetonitrile at reflux temperature is required for rapid conversion in the case of primary amides.     

Highly efficient synthesis of amides via Ritter chemistry with ionic liquids

The utility of Brønsted-acidic imidazolium ionic liquid [BMIM(SO₃H)][OTf] as catalyst for the high yield synthesis of a wide variety of amides under mild conditions via the Ritter reaction of alcohols with nitriles has been demonstrated. As alternative methods for the carbocation generation step, NOPF₆ immobilized in [BMIM][PF₆] ionic liquid was used in the Ritter reaction of bromides with nitriles and for the synthesis of adamantyl amides from adamantane and nitriles.     

Iodine-catalyzed one-pot synthesis of amides from nitriles via Ritter reaction

Ritter reactions of alcohols and tert-butyl acetate with various nitriles were performed using iodine as a mild and effective catalyst under heating conditions to afford the corresponding amides in good to excellent yields.     

Efficient and selective hydration of nitriles to amides in aqueous systems with Ru(II)-phosphaurotropine catalysts

A simple and efficient synthesis of amides by selective hydration of aromatic and aliphatic nitriles is described. The catalysts are prepared in situ from easily available Ru-precursors and ligands using water as the solvent. The most active catalyst, is obtained from [RuCl₂(dmso)₄] and benzylated 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane. Of the 16 substrates examined, 92–99% conversions of 14 nitriles were achieved in one hour at reflux temperature.     

A continuous-flow synthesis of primary amides from hydrolysis of nitriles using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant

A continuous-flow synthesis of primary amides from hydrolysis of nitriles using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant has been developed. Using this procedure, a variety of nitriles could be smoothly transformed into the desired primary amides in good to excellent yields. The mild reaction conditions and the flowing reaction system greatly improved the safety and make the reaction easy to scale up.     

A heterogeneous catalytic method for the conversion of nitriles into amides using molecular sieves modified with copper(II)

A heterogenous catalytic method is developed for the hydration of nitriles into amides with acetaldoxime. Copper(II) supported on 4 Å molecular sieves is an efficient catalyst for this reaction.     

Cost efficient synthesis of amides from oximes with indium or zinc catalysts

Simple indium and zinc salts have been successfully used as catalysts for the rearrangement of oximes into primary amides. The direct synthesis of nitriles or primary amides from aldehydes has also been demonstrated using these inexpensive catalysts.     

FeCl3-catalyzed Ritter reaction. Synthesis of amides

A safe and inexpensive synthesis of amides, from benzylic alcohols and nitriles and from t-butyl acetate and nitriles, using a Ritter reaction catalyzed by FeCl₃·6H₂O is described.     

An iron-catalysed synthesis of amides from nitriles and amines

The cheap, commercially available iron complex, Fe(NO₃)₃·9H₂O, has been used to catalyse the formation of amides by the addition of amines to nitriles.     

Organocatalytic synthesis of amides from nitriles via the Ritter reaction

A simple, inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and efficient route for the synthesis of a wide variety of amides in high yields via the Ritter reaction of alcohols with nitriles has been demonstrated. Pentafluorophenyl ammonium triflate (PFPAT) is used as an organocatalyst and is air-stable, cost-effective, easy to handle, and easily removed from the reaction mixtures.     

HBF4·OEt2 as a mild and versatile reagent for the Ritter amidation of olefins: a facile synthesis of secondary amides

A variety of alkenes undergo smooth amidation with nitriles in the presence of HBF₄·OEt₂ at room temperature under mild conditions to afford the corresponding secondary amides in good to excellent yields. This is a highly efficient method for the preparation of α-aryl ethyl amides especially from vinyl arenes without any side reactions such as olefin polymerization. The use of readily available and easy to handle reagent HBF₄·OEt₂ makes this method simple, convenient, and practical.     

Activation of nitriles by silver(I) N-heterocyclic carbenes: An efficient on-water synthesis of primary amides

A first example of silver(I) N-heterocyclic carbene (Ag(I)-NHC) catalyzed on-water synthesis of primary amides by hydration of nitriles under mild reaction conditions is described. This organometallic catalytic system has excellent tolerance for various homo-aromatic, hetero-aromatic and aliphatic nitriles to afford primary amides in good yields in neat water.     

The hydration of nitriles catalyzed by simple transition metal salt of the fourth period with the aid of acetaldoxime

We describe here a method for selective hydration of nitriles into the corresponding amides by employing commercially available acetaldoxime and simple transition metal catalysts such as nickel salts, zinc salts, cobalt salts and manganese salts in water. Nickel salts show the highest catalytic activity, owing to their relatively small diameter of the metal cation. Nitriles having electron‐withdrawing groups could be converted into the corresponding amides in excellent yields using nickel catalyst at room temperature. Heterocyclic nitriles with heteroatom lone pair positioned ortho to the nitrile group show high reactivity; even these special nitriles could be hydrated by transition metal catalyst and water at refluxing temperature in the absence of acetaldoxime. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nitrile biotransformation for highly enantioselective synthesis of 3-substituted 2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylic acids and amides

Biotransformations of differently configured 2,2-dimethyl-3-substitued-cyclopropanecarbonitriles were studied using a nitrile hydratase/amidase-containing Rhodococcus sp. AJ270 whole-cell catalyst under very mild conditions. Although all of the cis-3-aryl-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarbonitriles appeared inert toward the biocatalyst, a number of racemic trans-isomers efficiently underwent a highly enantioselective hydrolysis to produce (+)-(1R,3R)-3-aryl-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylic acids and (-)-(1S,3S)-3-aryl-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxamides in high yields with excellent enantiomeric excesses in most cases. The overall enantioselectivity of the biotransformations of nitriles originated from the combined effects of 1R-enantioselective nitrile hydratase and amidase, with the later being a dominant factor. The influence of the substrates on both reaction efficiency and enantioselectivity was discussed in terms of steric and electronic effects. Coupled with chemical transformations, biotransformations of nitriles provided convenient syntheses of optically pure geminally dimethyl-substituted cyclopropanecarboxylic acids and amides, including chrysanthemic acids, in both enantiomeric forms.     

Ca(HSO4)2 mediated conversion of alcohols into N-substituted amides under heterogeneous conditions: A modified Ritter reaction

Tertiary, secondary, and benzylic alcohols react efficiently with nitriles in the presence of the catalyst calcium hydrogen sulfate, Ca(HSO₄)₂, to produce amides in high yields. In this study, a modified Ritter reaction using this solid acid catalyst is found to be an environmentally safe method for converting 2,6-bis(hydroxymethyl)-4-halo anisole into the corresponding diamides in CH₃CN.     

Preparation of beta- and gamma-lactams from carbamoyl radicals derived from oxime oxalate amides

A general synthetic route to oxime oxalate amides was developed and applied to the preparation of molecules incorporating N-benzyl-N-alkenyl amides linked with acetone oxime or benzaldoxime units. In addition, 2-substituted-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid methyl ester amides of oxalyl benzaldoxime were also prepared. It was shown by EPR spectroscopy that the oxalyl benzaldoxime amides dissociated to produce benziminyl and carbamoyl (aminoacyl) radicals when photolysed with 4-methoxyacetophenone as a photosensitizer. Carbamoyl radicals derived from N-alk-3-enyl oxime oxalate amides underwent ring closure to afford pyrrolidin-2-ones. The analogous N-alk-2-enyl precursors afforded azetidin-2-ones. Reactions of the cyclohexenyl and cinnamyl oxime oxalate amides afforded a bicyclic beta-lactam and a 3-benzyl-substituted beta-lactam respectively. Interestingly, both products were isolated as hydroxylated compounds. A thiazolidine-derived oxime oxalate amide containing an isobutenyl side chain also dissociated with production of the corresponding thiazolidinyl-carbamoyl radical, as shown by EPR spectroscopy. GC-MS evidence indicated that this radical cyclised to afford some of the corresponding penicillin derivative     

Acceptorless dehydrogenative synthesis of primary amides from alcohols and ammonia

The highly desirable synthesis of the widely-used primary amides directly from alcohols and ammonia via acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling represents a clean, atom-economical, sustainable process. Nevertheless, such a reaction has not been previously reported, and the existing catalytic systems instead generate other N-containing products, e.g., amines, imines and nitriles. Herein, we demonstrate an efficient and selective ruthenium-catalyzed synthesis of primary amides from alcohols and ammonia gas, accompanied by H₂ liberation. Various aliphatic and aromatic primary amides were synthesized in high yields, with no observable N-containing byproducts. The selectivity of this system toward primary amide formation is rationalized through density functional theory (DFT) calculations, which show that dehydrogenation of the hemiaminal intermediate into primary amide is energetically favored over its dehydration into imine.

An efficient and selective synthesis of primary amides from alcohols and ammonia, with H₂ evolution, has been achieved by an unprecedented acceptorless dehydrogenative process catalyzed by a pyridine-based PNN–ruthenium pincer complex.     

Mild and reversible dehydration of primary amides with PdCl2 in aqueous acetonitrile

[reaction: see text] A new, mild, and reversible method to convert primary amides to nitriles in good yields using PdCl2 in aqueous acetonitrile is described.     

Synthesis and reactions of allenic amides : Allenes-XXXI

Allenic amides are prepared from allenic nitriles using alkaline hydrogen peroxide and by a Ritter reaction with t-butyl alcohol, when N-t-butylamides are obtained. Strong nucleophiles attack the central carbon of the allene system to give α,β-unsaturated addition products.     

An efficient InCl3-catalyzed hydration of nitriles to amides: acetaldoxime as an effective water surrogate

An efficient InCl₃-catalyzed hydration protocol of nitriles to amides was developed. The reaction was carried out in toluene at refluxing temperature with the aid of acetaldoxime as an effective water surrogate to produce amides in high yields.