Recent Developments in the Nitroxide-Catalyzed Oxidation of Amines: Preparation of Imines and Nitriles

This Concept highlights the discovery and developments in the oxidations of amines catalyzed by TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl- N-oxyl) and related catalytic systems. The most important feature of these systems is that, with slight modifications in the reaction media, amines are selectively oxidized to either an imine or nitrile. Progress made toward the oxidation of various benzylic, allylic, and aliphatic amines, and possible reaction mechanism pathways are discussed.