Recent Developments in Manganese, Iron and Cobalt Homogeneous Catalyzed Synthesis of Primary Amines via Reduction of Nitroarenes, Nitriles and Carboxamides

The preparation of primary amines attracts huge attention in the molecular synthetic community. Indeed, amines play a crucial role in chemistry as they are important substructures in a huge amount of drug molecules, agrochemicals, dyes and molecular materials. Compared to stoichiometric reductions using metal hydride based reagents, the catalyzed reduction of nitroarenes, nitriles and carboxamides appears to be an attractive option, mainly when associated to first row transition metals such as manganese, iron, or cobalt. In this short review, we illustrate the progress achieved in homogeneous hydrogenation, hydrogen transfer, hydrogen borrowing and hydrosilylation of nitroarenes, nitriles and carboxamides.

Automated summary

The preparation of primary amines is widely studied in the field of molecular synthesis. Amines are crucial in chemistry as they are important substructures in drugs, agrochemicals, dyes and molecular materials. Catalyzed reduction of nitroarenes, nitriles and carboxamides using transition metals such as manganese, iron, or cobalt shows promise as an attractive option. This review highlights the progress achieved in homogeneous hydrogenation, hydrogen transfer, hydrogen borrowing and hydrosilylation of these compounds.