Chapter 17. Catalytic Amide Bond Forming Methods

Catalytic approaches to amide bond forming reactions have been a significant and ever growing area of academic research and more recently the area has gained the interest of industry. Whilst stoichiometric coupling reagents and additives for amide bond forming reactions still deservedly have a place within industrial processes, the environmental and economical advantages of using catalytic methodologies are apparent when run on a larger scale. This chapter aims to highlight and describe key catalytic methodologies developed for amide bond forming reactions. It will highlight the variety of functional groups that can be transformed both efficiently and catalytically into amide bonds, as well as detailing the advantages and disadvantages of the methodologies developed and where future development will likely focus.