IrIII-Catalyzed direct syntheses of amides and esters using nitriles as acid equivalents: a photochemical pathway†‡
Abstract
An unprecedented IrIII[df(CF3)ppy]2(dtbbpy)PF6-catalyzed simple photochemical process for direct addition of amines and alcohols to the relatively less reactive nitrile triple bond is described herein. Various amides and esters are synthesized as the reaction products, with nitriles being the acid equivalents. A mini-library of different types of amides and esters is made using this mild and efficient process, which uses only 1 mol% of photocatalyst under visible light irradiation (λ = 445 nm). The reaction strategy is also efficient for gram-scale synthesis.