Affiliation:
1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics Hunan University 410082 Changsha China
2. Greater Bay Area Institute for Innovation Hunan University 511300 Guangzhou Guangdong Province China
Abstract
AbstractCatalytic hydrogenation of nitriles represents an efficient and sustainable one‐step synthesis of valuable bulk and fine chemicals. We report herein a molecular cobalt electrocatalyst for selective hydrogenative coupling of nitriles with amines using protons as the hydrogen source. The key to success for this reductive reaction is the use of an electrocatalytic approach for efficient cobalt‐hydride generation through a sequence of cathodic reduction and protonation. As only electrons (e−) and protons (H+) as the redox equivalent and hydrogen source, this general electrohydrogenation protocol is showcased by highly selective and straightforward synthesis of various functionalized and structurally diverse amines, as well as deuterium isotope labeling applications. Mechanistic studies reveal that the electrogenerated cobalt‐hydride transfer to nitrile process is the rate‐determining step.
Funder
Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province