Rapid, one-pot synthesis of α,α-disubstituted primary amines by the addition of Grignard reagents to nitriles under microwave heating conditions

A series of α,α-disubstituted amines have been prepared in a simple and efficient one-pot procedure by the addition of Grignard reagents to a series of aliphatic, aromatic, and heteroaromatic nitriles. Key to this reported procedure is the unprecedented addition of the Grignard reagent to the nitrile under heating by microwave irradiation which both significantly improves reaction yields and reduces reaction times. In general, the Grignard addition reaction is complete within 5–10 min at 100 °C followed by rapid reduction with sodium borohydride to give the target amines.