Robust Hydrogenation of Nitrile and Nitro Groups to Primary Amines Using Ni2P as a Catalyst and Ammonia Borane under Ambient Conditions

The selective hydrogenation of nitrile groups to primary amines is challenging owing to their high ability to produce secondary and tertiary amines. Herein, we report an efficient system for the hydrogenation of nitrile and nitro groups to primary amines catalyzed by Ni2P nanoparticles in an aqueous H3NBH3 solution under ambient conditions. The system exhibits high catalytic selectivity toward generating primary amines, resulting in good isolated yields. A combination of experiments and theoretical calculations shows that composite interactions among species on the catalyst surface alter the catalytic pathway.