Production of Primary Amines by Reductive Amination of Biomass-Derived Aldehydes/Ketones.
Transformation of biomass into valuable nitrogen-containing compounds is highly desired, yet limited success has been achieved. Here we report an efficient catalyst system, partially reduced Ru/ZrO2, which could catalyze the reductive amination of a variety of biomass-derived aldehydes/ketones in aqueous ammonia. With this approach, a spectrum of renewable primary amines was produced in good to excellent yields. Moreover, we have demonstrated a two-step approach for production of ethanolamine, a large-market nitrogen-containing chemical, from lignocellulose in an overall yield of 10 %. Extensive characterizations showed that Ru/ZrO2-containing multivalence Ru association species worked as a bifunctional catalyst, with RuO2as acidic promoter to facilitate the activation of carbonyl groups and Ru as active sites for the subsequent imine hydrogenation.
State Key Laboratory of Catalysis,iChEM, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, China.
Guanfeng
G
Liang
State Key Laboratory of Catalysis,iChEM, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, China.
Aiqin
A
Wang
State Key Laboratory of Catalysis,iChEM, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, China.
Lin
L
Li
State Key Laboratory of Catalysis,iChEM, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, China.
Gang
G
Xu
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.
Ning
N
Yan
State Key Laboratory of Catalysis,iChEM, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, China.
Tao
T
Zhang
biomass; ethanolamine; heterogeneous catalysis; reductive amination; ruthenium catalyst