Selective Reductive Amination of Carbonyls to Primary Amines Under Ambient Conditions Over Rh/MFM‐300(Cr)
The synthesis of organic amines via reductive amination of biomass-derived carbonyl compounds is an important target for sustainable chemical industries. The control of selectivity for the formation of primary amines versus secondary amines is challenging, and high temperature and pressures using H<sub>2</sub> are required to generate the desired selectivity. Herein, we report the highly selective reductive amination of a broad range of aldehydes and ketones by NH<sub>3</sub> and H<sub>2</sub> over Rh/MFM-300(Cr) to form primary amines with a selectivity of up to 99% under ambient conditions. Inelastic neutron scattering reveals that the Rh species not only promote the hydrogenation process, but also catalyzes the ammonolysis of the Schiff base intermediate, facilitating the selective synthesis of primary amines. This protocol achieves selective reductive amination at 25 °C and 1 atm, providing an energy-efficient route to a broad spectrum of amines.
Authors
- Svemir Rudić (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3023-8565)
- Shaojun Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8026-8714)
- Bing An (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1085-0602)
- Sihai Yang⧫ (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1111-9272)
- Rongsheng Cai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2148-0563)
- Qingqing Mei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0210-1377)
- Martin Schröder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6992-0700)
- Sarah J. Haigh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5509-6706)
- Wenyuan Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3815-9263)
- Xue Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2190-9227)
- Longfei Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2892-6094)
- Buxing Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0440-809X)
Institutions
- Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (GB)
- Peking University (CN)
- Beijing Normal University (CN)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (CN)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2025-11-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202519641
- Primary Topic
- Asymmetric Hydrogenation and Catalysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Diamond Light Source
- Henry Royce Institute
- European Commission
- China Scholarship Council
- Peking University
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Science and Technology Facilities Council
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences