Selective Ruthenium‐Catalyzed Hydration of Nitriles to Amides in Pure Aqueous Medium Under Neutral Conditions

Abstract

Simple, general, efficient, and green: Selective hydration of nitriles to amides (see scheme) can be performed in water under neutral conditions by using the novel hydrosoluble ruthenium(II) catalyst [RuCl2(η6-C6Me6)(PTA-Bn)] (PTA-Bn=1-benzyl-3,5-diaza-1-azonia-7-phosphaadamantane chloride). Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://www.wiley-vch.de/contents/jc_2111/2008/z800847_s.pdf or from the author. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.