Mild and selective Et2Zn-catalyzed reduction of tertiary amides under hydrosilylation conditions

Org Lett. 2015 Feb 6;17(3):446-9. doi: 10.1021/ol503430t. Epub 2015 Jan 14.

Abstract

Diethylzinc (Et2Zn) can be used as an efficient and chemoselective catalyst for the reduction of tertiary amides under mild reaction conditions employing cost-effective polymeric silane (PMHS) as the hydride source. Crucial for the catalytic activity was the addition of a substoichiometric amount of lithium chloride to the reaction mixture. A series of amides containing different additional functional groups were reduced to their corresponding amines, and the products were isolated in good-to-excellent yields.