Effective reductive amination of carbonyl compounds with hydrogen catalyzed by iridium complex in organic solvent and in ionic liquid

The direct reductive amination (DRA) of carbonyl compounds with amines has been achieved using homogenous iridium catalyst and gaseous hydrogen. It appeared that the cationic iridium catalyst, [Ir(cod)2]BF4, without any other ligands was sufficient for the reaction. For the DRA of the ketone substrates, an ionic liquid, [Bmim]BF4, was found to be superior to the other organic solvent used. Especially, the counter anion of the ionic liquid has a significant influence on the selectivity, and at the same time, a high reaction temperature was found to be crucial for the excellent selectivity.