Base-Free Synthesis of Furfurylamines from Biomass Furans Using Ru Pincer Complexes

We report the first example of employing homogeneous organometal-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation for the selective reductive amination of furfurals to furfurylamines. An efficient, chemoselective, and base-free method is described using Ru-MACHO-BH as catalyst and iPrOH as H donor. The method tolerates a range of substituents affording moderate to excellent yields.

Automated summary

A novel method utilizing homogeneous organometal-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation was developed for the selective reductive amination of furfurals to furfurylamines. The efficient and base-free process, employing Ru-MACHO-BH as catalyst and iPrOH as H donor, demonstrated good tolerance for a range of substituents, yielding moderate to excellent results.