Selective ruthenium-catalyzed transfer hydrogenations of nitriles to amines with 2-butanol.

Transfer your hydrogen: Fast and general transfer hydrogenation of nitriles to form primary amines is possible with a homogeneous Ru/1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane (DPPB) catalyst (see scheme). The use of 2-butanol as the hydrogen-transfer reagent is essential for the selective reduction of aromatic, heteroaromatic, and aliphatic nitriles with this system.