A versatile cobalt catalyst for the reductive amination of carbonyl compounds with nitro compounds by transfer hydrogenation

Co nanoparticles embedded in mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon (abbreviated as [email protected]) were prepared and found to be resistant to acid. The [email protected] catalyst was found to be active and selective for the one-pot reductive amination of carbonyl compounds with nitro compounds by transfer hydrogenation with formic acid as the hydrogen donor, affording the corresponding secondary amines with excellent yields (89.6–99%). Both nitrogen atoms and Co nanoparticles were of great importance in the one-pot reductive amination over the [email protected] catalyst by formic acid, and the protic N-H+ and hydridic Co-H− were proposed to be the active species for the transfer hydrogenation reactions. Furthermore, the [email protected] catalyst was highly stable without loss of its activity.