A general synthesis of amines via cobalt atoms individually anchored by divacancy sites on graphene-shelled layers

Pharmaceutical synthesis keeps close ties with the development of heterogeneous catalysts; in this work, we report a facile way to prepare cobalt nanoparticles encapsulated by a graphene-shelled matrix, whose catalytic activity for a wide range of primary amines is proved to be broadly effective. As determined by its structural features, such a graphene-shelled matrix is characterized by surface defects such that inner metallic atoms are individually pulled outside by the divacancy sites; as a result, the delivery of metallic sites facilitates the easy substitution of the –NH2 moiety toward functionalized and structurally diverse molecules by directly activating the C=O or C–N bonds in varied substrates, providing cost-effective access to numerous amines and other precursors for more complex drug products. In addition, the performance of this catalyst in a continuous test can reach at least 180 h without any loss of efficiency, which can be mainly ascribed to the protection of graphene-shelled structures.