Nitrogen-Doped Carbon-Supported Nickel Nanoparticles: A Robust Catalyst to Bridge the Hydrogenation of Nitriles and the Reductive Amination of Carbonyl Compounds for the Synthesis of Primary Amines

An efficient method was developed for the synthesis of primary amines either from the hydrogenation of nitriles or reductive amination of carbonyl compounds. The reactions were catalyzed by nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (MC)-supported nickel nanoparticles (abbreviated as MC/Ni). The MC/Ni catalyst demonstrated high catalytic activity for the hydrogenation of nitriles into primary amines in high yields (81.9-99 %) under mild reaction conditions (80 degrees C and 2.5 bar H-2). The MC/Ni catalyst also promoted the reductive amination of carbonyl compounds for the synthesis of primary amines at 80 degrees C and 1 bar H-2. The hydrogenation of nitriles and the reductive amination proceeded through the same intermediates for the generation of the primary amines. To the best of our knowledge, no other heterogeneous non-noble metal catalysts have been reported for the synthesis of primary amines under mild conditions, both from the hydrogenation of nitriles and reductive amination.