Indium-catalyzed reduction of secondary amides with a hydrosiloxane leading to secondary amines

Described herein is that the selective reduction of aromatic/aliphatic secondary amides using a combination of InI3 and TMDS (1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane), which led to the production of the corresponding secondary amines. This reducing system showed a relatively high tolerance to a variety of functional groups, such as an alkyl, an alkoxy, a halogen, a cyano, an ether, a thioether, a heterocyclic ring, and a terminal alkene group. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.