Catalytic hydrogenation of benzyl cyanide and phenyl cyanide with Pd/c and chloroform as proton source produce effecitively the primary amines, β-phenylethyl amine and benzyl amine respectively.
Hydrogn chloride originated from hydrogenolysis of chl...
Catalytic hydrogenation of benzyl cyanide and phenyl cyanide with Pd/c and chloroform as proton source produce effecitively the primary amines, β-phenylethyl amine and benzyl amine respectively.
Hydrogn chloride originated from hydrogenolysis of chloroform eliminates the primary amines reduced from nitriles on the catalytic (Pd/c) surface, preventing secondary amine formation.
When methylene chloride is used as proton source in the catalytic (Pd/c) hydrogenation of nitriles, secondary amines are produced. With Raney-Ni, catalytic hydrogenation of some nitriles and nitrocompounds with chloroform as proton source do not give the expected reduction products, amines. Since the expected intermediate, nitrosobenzenc and N-phenylhydroxylamine was smoothly reduced to aniline in the catalytic reduction, they might be the intermediates in the catalytic (Ra-Ni) reduction of nitrobenzene. The expected product, water from Ra-Ni catalytic hydrogenation of nitrobenzene was identified by Gas Chromatography.