Hydration of Nitriles Enabled by PNP−manganese Pincer Catalyst

Abstract

A general and practical methodology for the hydration of nitriles to primary amides enabled by manganese catalyst is presented. The described protocol shows broad substrate scope with good functional group tolerance, including a wide range of (hetero)aromatic and aliphatic nitriles, thus afforded the corresponding amides in good to excellent isolated yields under mild conditions. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicated that metal-ligand cooperation (MLC) mode was involved in this catalytic process.