Developing mild and efficient catalytic methods for the selective synthesis of amines is a longstanding research objective. In this respect, catalytic deoxygenative amide reduction has proven to be promising but challenging, as this approach necessitates selective C–O bond cleavage. Herein, we report the selective hydroboration of primary, secondary, and tertiary amides at room temperature catalyzed by an earth-abundant-metal catalyst, Zr-H, for accessing diverse amines. Various readily reducible functional groups, such as esters, alkynes, and alkenes, were well tolerated. Furthermore, the methodology was extended to the synthesis of bio- and drug-derived amines. Detailed mechanistic studies revealed a reaction pathway entailing aldehyde and amido complex formation via an unusual C–N bond cleavage-reformation process, followed by C–O bond cleavage.

开发用于选择性合成胺的温和高效的催化方法是一个长期的研究目标。在这方面，催化脱氧酰胺还原已被证明是有前途但具有挑战性的，因为这种方法需要选择性的 C-O 键裂解。在此，我们报告了伯、仲和叔酰胺在室温下由地球丰富的金属催化剂 Zr-H 催化的选择性硼氢化反应，以获取不同的胺。各种易于还原的官能团，如酯、炔烃和烯烃，都具有良好的耐受性。此外，该方法还扩展到生物和药物衍生胺的合成。详细的机理研究揭示了一个反应途径，通过一个不寻常的 C-N 键断裂-重整过程形成醛和酰胺复合物，然后是 C-O 键断裂。