Aqueous PTS-Enabled Propargylamine Synthesis: Scope, Scalability, and Synthetic Utility

Advancing sustainability and catalysis in synthetic processes is the central theme in contemporary research, driven by growing environmental concerns related to the manufacturing of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials. In this context, the present study reports a sustainable protocol for the synthesis of propargylamines using 1 mol % metallic zinc in an aqueous PTS surfactant (1% w/w), employing aldehydes, amines, and terminal alkynes. This robust and versatile method demonstrates a broad substrate scope (>50 examples), excellent functional group tolerance, and high product yields (72–88%). Additional advantages include scalability up to 10 g, recyclability of the aqueous PTS medium, and favorable green chemistry metrics. The study further suggests that colloidal assemblies and reaction conditions may play a role in governing chemoselectivity (propargylamine vs. propargylic alcohol) and showcases postsynthetic transformations of resulting propargylamines to valuable heterocycles and functionalized derivatives.