General Synthesis of Secondary Alkylamines by Reductive Alkylation of Nitriles by Aldehydes and Ketones

The development of C−N bond formation reactions is highly desirable due to their importance in biology and chemistry. Recent progress in 3d metal catalysis is indicative of unique selectivity patterns that may permit solving challenges of chemical synthesis. We report here on a catalytic C−N bond formation reaction—the reductive alkylation of nitriles. Aldehydes or ketones and nitriles, all abundantly available and low‐cost starting materials, undergo a reductive coupling to form secondary alkylamines and inexpensive hydrogen is used as the reducing agent. The reaction has a very broad scope and many functional groups, including hydrogenation‐sensitive examples, are tolerated. We developed a novel cobalt catalyst, which is nanostructured, reusable, and easy to handle. The key seems the earth‐abundant metal in combination with a porous support material, N‐doped SiC, synthesized from acrylonitrile and a commercially available polycarbosilane.